: Jeez,
: Need a bigger grandstand. This one is going to break from leeg's fermented
: pumpernickel and cheese diet. I am going for my barf bag.

: oh hell, you really shouldn't have responded. I'm guessing you have a

Work with me on this one,,go to the middle picture on this page showing two guys holding a kayak standing on a kayak.

http://www.clcboats.com/cambereddecks.php/cart_id=e504db6c891ff64f244712bb9a951066/

What is going on here? That one guy on the right who weighs about 35lbs more than the other guy and is standing on the front bulkhead and deck beam carrying most of the kayaks weight and the other fellow is standing near the aft bulkhead and hatch reinforcement and weighs about 150lbs. What is being proven? That bulkheads are a strong place to stand? The thing that picture doesn't show is the 4" strip of 9oz tape that's under the foredeck from deck beam to front bulkhead and the glass under the aft deck that I put in there because I didn't want to go to a demo and hear the boats crack while people sat on them. The previous demo boats with unglassed decks were full of dark stains in the wood from being sat on and the decks cracking. The other thing is that the deck is glassed with 6oz cloth and not 4oz. as is standard. Sure the decks are stronger now,,but why put that picure in there? Because it's easier to take a picture than to change the manual and blueprints.
Isaiah, you don't get it do you? That picture means absolutely nothing for the stresses a kayak in rough use receives. If I do a basic assisted rescue and don't keep that other kayak on my coaming while turning it over it can roll/bump onto the foredeck, sure there's 4oz glass there,,but even with 6oz deck glass it's not as strong as a paneled deck. Those guys in street clothes aren't a kayak rolling across the foredeck. No one whose built a kayak with a paneled deck would say a bent deck is stronger. They CAN be made more than strong enough, the Arctic Hawk glassing schedule is proof of someone building from experience,,but the institutional resistance in CLC to actually getting wet and finding out what is normal never happened. For example in the boat pictured if you turn it over you could walk on the bottom of the cockpit with no problem,,sounds pretty tough doesn't it? Ok,,now get off the kayak and press onto the middle of one of bottom panels about 6" back from the aft bulkhead with the palm of your hand. You'll hear cracking sounds. There's no glass cloth on the interior of the aft compartment between the 3" tape unless you order the "expedition package". Ok,,so I'm being picky,,,but if you've never entered into a kayak except on a sheltered sand/muddy beach you'd never think that mattered,,until you get into your kayak at a rocky beach that's sheltered. The boat's floating in the water, you bridge with your paddle to a seaweed covered rock and get in,,the kayak settles onto a big round rock behind the aft compartmen and elicits little cracking sounds. Nothing catastrophic,,but why have that happen at all? How about this? You put your kayak on a kayak cart with the cart on that area of the aft compartment,,45lbs of kayak 15lbs of kayak gear,,,and the 4mm okoume with glass only on the exterior will make cracking sounds,,,again not catastrophic but why have it happen at all? And if you're not a light person,,let's say a 260lb person building a Ch18 do you really think it doesn't matter?
Whoever you are, if I strike this negative of a response from you let's make something positive from it. You go to CLC and document with photos and testimonials the testing of the WR18 and WR16. With that you'd be doing such a marketing effort for CLC that I bet they'd give you a kit.