Dave,

I've always heard that the football should go on the outside of the main fabric. The reason is that if you damage the outer fibers, it's OK; the football is a sacrificial layer. If you put the football on the inside and you damage the outer layers, you are damaging the main layer of glass and it might weaken your hull. It's better to have the main layer more protected. If you hit a sharp rock and the gouge goes through both layers, it doesn't matter which one is on the outside. You are, however, much more likely to get superficial scratches, and many more of them, than the ones that go all the way to the wood.

I agree with John about putting the stronger lay-up where it will be in tension. I like the idea of using 6 oz. inside/4 oz. outside for the deck and 4 oz. inside/6 oz. outside for the hull. That's what I did with my son's kayak. Here in S. Florida, it's not likely that I'll be dropped on top of a huge rock by a rougue wave. I'd rather have the strength on the outside of the hull to hold my bodyweight and any cargo that I might have.

Hope this helps,

Pedro Almeida