Thanks, I tried to make it objective and not subjective or emotional.

The information I got from Gougeon brothers was in the form of their newsletter. I think I just lucked out as I recall. It wasn't a huge thing. They did a simple test to failure run with several strip built panels using as I recall, 3 oz and 6 oz cloth. Standard woven cloth like what almost all of us use. I went looking for the information on their web pages and couldn't find it. Nor do I have it readily available at home. But for the calling, they'd probably send it to you.

It was usefull to me because it gave failure numbers. That way I could determine for myself just what I needed as a minimum based on my weight, boat usage, etc. It also gave me an understanding of the strength effects of build ups (2x3 oz vs 1x6 oz). In spite of what some people are claiming in this thread right now, it doesn't matter very much how many layers of glass you put down, it's the actual amount (weight) of glass used. That's in no small measure why larger boats are built using heavier fibers called roving instead of thinner cloth I've come to learn. When it was all said and done, the 1x6 oz instructions from CLC were probably adequate for me and most of the typical planned uses of my boat. I still used more because of my very untypical planned uses, but I probably could have gotten away with less then I actually did use. How much less is of course questionable, considering what I do at times with my boat (ice breaking, commercial crabbing, etc).

Something about fiberglass that must be remembered is strand orientation and how that relates to strength. Yes, a satin weave is stronger then a normal weave; *but*, only in the direction that the satin weave fibers are running. Crosswise, it's substantially weaker. Because I know the loads experienced by the boat hull run in many different directions, I would not feel comfortable using a single layer of a satin cloth. The boat would be very strong in one direction (say stem to stern), but quite weak across the hull.

For my research on building my kayak I never strayed outside the box of the normal cloths I could get at local boat yards. That's normal over-under weave generic fiberglass. Without a doubt there are stronger fibers (not necessarily better all things considered, just stronger). As well many different alternative weaves. I didn't explore them at the time. I'd still be inclined to not explore them too much myself because the losses (expense, difficulty of use, appearance, questionable application) outweight the gains (lightness). I can handle my boat weighing a lot. So using a couple of layers of generic fiberglass as opposed to kevlar was and is just fine by me. If you wish to explore it though on a strength level, or even a strength to weight level, probably one of the best people around here to talk to about it is George. Nick also knows quite a bit about it. As does someone in this thread (they mentioned they build very much like George).

There are also some pretty good books, like "Boat Building with Composites" and "Fiberglass Boats" I think. They aren't geared towards light boats like kayaks, but they do discuss strengths and weaves and fiber materials. Good if you're going to build or rebuild a big boat or just want general knowledge, but not very usefull for specifics of kayak building. I usually find these titles, and others, at the used book stores I like to haunt. They are old titles though, and while I doubt glass fibers have changed all that much since they were written, they might have.

As for people here wanting to review the findings, just take a look at the things people are saying here on this thread. I'd like to agree with you on this point, but I don't see how I could. Only a few seem to have any interest in it, the rest just want to bash and proclaim it all BS.