Shawn,

Thanks for the response. I didn't know that the surface roughness affected absorption. I think now that the lighter blotches (about thumbprint size) were caused by the final sanding of the hull joints prior to full coating. When I sanded down the joints, I also, in some spots, sanded through the the epoxy on the sides of the glass tape -- back down to bare wood again. These spots may have been smoother, absorbing less epoxy (if your sanding reasoning is correct.) Or they might have been somewhat sealed from the prior coating, and didn't allow the next coat to soak in.

True, you do have to look closely to see these 'variations', but I'm a bit of a perfectionist. Which is why I'll probably build another one next winter. That is, if my landlady doesn't complain too much. I just built mine in my apartment, but the landlady didn't find out until it was just about done...

Dean