I may be wrong because new products and technology comes out every day.  But I think what you saw was a polyester resin (really stinks) instead of epoxy.  Which is what most comercial yaks are made of so the strength is there, but it wont be clear and you generally have to gel coat it for protection.

So you wont have any wood showing, and it takes an investment in tools that can only be used for that.  Cloth and epoxy just isn't that hard and gives a much nicer result.

was just curious. thanks for the info.

could have been a chopper gun.  This is a method used for making small boats where weight is not as much of a factor.  they call it a copper gun because the glass is chopped up, mixed with resin and sprayed.  Used in commercial boat building, equipment not worth the money unless you are building lots... oh, and you need a mould.  Also, because you are now dealing with short fibers, you need more thickness... hence weight.

out of curiousity, what were they spraying the fiberglass on?

Agree with every answer above except the statement that "the strength is there".  Chopped glass and polyester makes a weaker material, per unit weight, than glass fabric and epoxy for two reasons: Chopped glass is weaker than woven, and polyester is weaker than epoxy (especially old polyester), per unit weight.

Mass manufacturers make up for the lower stiffness with more material.  Chopped glass is a cheaper manufacturing technique than hand layup, and polyester is cheaper than epoxy.  So they come out ahead on cost, though with a much heavier boat than CLC boat builders would ever accept, even if we could afford the mass-manufacturing molds and the chopper guns.

Thanks for all the replies.

I saw this on dirty jobs. They were making molds for something cant remember.