: Hi all,

: I am 'almost' ready to start my strip Night Heron. Very exciting!

: I have a stock of 3.5mm WRC which I'll be using, and the original plan was to
: strip the boat and then sand very, very carefully so as to not take too
: much off (and use narrow strips to conform to the curves). Then use 200gsm
: (6oz) glass to provide some additonal stiffness.

: But, given I have enough strips for 3 kayaks plus change, and that the
: 'normal' strip thickness is 6mm, I was thinking it may be worth double
: planking it?

: I'd offset the second layer by 1/2 a strip to provide strength, and glue the
: 2 layers together. This would almost give a 'cold-moulded' effect for
: added thickness and strength. Then I'd have a 7mm thick hull which would
: allow a little more relaxed sanding. And I could probably use 130gsm (4oz)
: glass to compensate for the wood weight.

: It won't be (purposefully) hitting rocks or doing rough sea launches, so just
: needs to be strong enough to be safe.

: Any thoughts on double-planking the hull, or do I just go with the thinner
: strips and get another boat out of the wood pile?

: Thanks,
: Darren
: Melbourne, Australia

Darren,
I would be worried that the second layer would not lay flat on the first layer except where it is almost flat. You could end up with an inner and outer shape with a lot of air gaps between. You might try to glue up a few short strips on a curved area of the forms and than add the second layer. After it dries, cut through it and see how it looks. I guess if you use enough glue between the layers it would fill the gaps, but that may be a lot of glue.
This is a very crude drawing of what I'm trying to say.
Fred