Intro and a Southern Sabalo

[3rdcoastkayak]

Gives "options". For lighter weight and for an experienced builder one could just glass the seams. I am thinking full coverage inside and out with glass for durability and strength.

The sheets I weighed were whole sheets, but the parts were already marked for cutting. There are lots of parts for this boat, both large and small. Total of 4 sheets for the build. Lots of long skinny scraps. Probably could NOT be laid out much tighter in order to save wood. Not enough to matter, at least I don't think so. I will get a pic of the scraps after all the components are cut.

 

[oldsparkey]

I liked the 4 oz tight weave glass from Raka Fiberglass. He has all sorts of glass and epoxy. My favorite was the tight weave glass , ounce for ounce the tight weave is a lot tougher then any other in the same weight class.
The additional benefit is you can call him and he will talk with you about what would be the best in your area. He has built the same boats we build on here , both pirogues and skiffs for his personal use.

 

[Kayak Jack]

3C,
1. Glassing outside to water line is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (Read: kinda foolish not to)
2. Glassing outside all over is a standard practice
3. Glassing inside on the bottom is (again) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
4. Glassing inside above the waterline is pretty much ineffective. In a “flat bottomed” boat, glassing the sides has little benefit

 

[3rdcoastkayak]

Good info. Never thought of "above/below the water line". Outside, no questions, glass all over. But on the inside, I could save weight and perhaps money by using epoxy only above the water line.

 

[Kayak Jack]

That would be what’s “usually” done, I believe. But, there are lots of variations out there too.

 

[beekeeper]

Not to venture too far into the "dark side" (fiberglassing) and not familiar with your design I will say that the above the water line parts can have considerable stress at times. If you choose not to do the inside (above the water), an option would be to leave it unfinished. After using a few times you will know if it needs to be glassed and can then add it. I had to do this with my strip pirogue.
We probably all want our boats to be lighter. A "heavy" boat will not be a pleasure to load and launch. Every feature of a boat has a trade off. One built too light may fail under real world (your) usage. I'm not saying you should not try to hold the weight down relative to the design. To build a significant lighter boat another design may work better. A SOT design using 4 sheets of plywood may not be the best starting point for a light weight boat.
Don't get too bogged down in the details. Just build it according to the plans and directions and it will be fine. If it does not suit you or you need something different, you can always build another one, and another and another .......................... O wait that is another fellow I know.

 

[oldsparkey]

I used the 3.25 tight weave not the 4 oz glass. Had to go to Raka web site to make sure of the glass. Using 2 door skins ( Plus cypress ends and ribs ) and that glass I made a completely glassed ( Inside and out ) pitogue ( Uncle John s ) at 32 pounds and 2 pounds of the 32 pounds was the seat.