The panels are only 3mm and beveling isn't necessary. Also the cloth is 4mm and can go over a pretty tight radius so you don't have to sand edges as much as a typical kayak. 

George K

I believe at some point in the instrustion beveiling the edges is recommended.  I beveled my edges in just a shot time with 60 grit paper wrapped over a piece of 1/8" plywood.  Beveling the edges makes for a much better fit up when stitching.  For the majority of the length the bevel will be about 45 degrees on the bottom and sides.  And, as you approach the bow the angle of the bevel will decrease.

bevel them, or maybe even better, round them with #60 grit sandpaper to make thye task quick. Not sure what CLC is thinking but trying to get a nice snug stitch up with even thin ply like 3mm is a PITA without shaving the hard corner off the panel edges.

Kathy, I'm not 100% sure I'm following your question, but I think the difference here is the (numerous) bulkheads and the way the panels are designed to interact with them. If by "bevel the edges" you mean creating a mitered joint between the panels, at the very least this wouldn't work without some modifications to the bulkheads and or panels. The sides are meant to sit on the bottom pieces, so to make this work you'd need to cut the side panels to be wider (taller?) by the thickness of the hull panels and put a rolling bevel on both (guesstimating in the case of the hull which will bend pretty dramatically toward the bow when stitched into position). In other words, if you simply put 45s on the mating edges without altering the panel sizes, they won't meet. See my crummy little drawing below for what is hopefully clearer description than my prose.

This would probably be even more difficult with the deck which is designed to be attached oversized and then trimmed flush to the sides of the hull. It would take a much steadier hand than mine to put a rolling bevel on the sides (proud of the sheer) while leaving the sheer "flat," trim the hull perfectly, and then bevel its edge so as to drop it into place, leaving a nice tight seam and no end grain.

If you're simply talking about beveling the side pieces to get them to sit tighter to the bottom pieces, I think your intuition about this not being necessary is correct. Because they camber outward the open seam is on the inside, and this is well filled with a thichened epozy seam and a fillet. To add the rolling bevel you'd still have to oversize the panel, and if you're anything like me added complications like these only make matters worse.

The top portion of the sides (and attached sheer) does get a rolling bevel so the deck has a nice flat glue surface, but I think that's the only bevel the manual advocates. Tha's probably better described as "leveling," anyway!

For what it's worth, I did bevel the edges of the side pieces where they meet at the bow. Contrary to the (excellent) manual I found this to be pretty easy and I think the aesthetic improvement is worth the minor hassle. This is an all cedar strip version of the Kaholo so I'm not so troubled by endgrain. It's been more work upfront, but I'm loving the look so far (almost ready to glass the outside). If you're still in the mulling-it-over stages, I think it's worth considering.

Good luck!

Patrick