Hi:

I just completed joining the deck and hull of my strip kayak using the hot melt glue method of applying the fiberglass tape to the inside seam (which worked very well for me).

Because I had a lot of unevenness (runs) in the epoxy when I applied it to the deck and hull, I am in the process of sanding the entire kayak and re-applying a thin layer of epoxy (hopefully, I can be carefull to make sure I don't get any more runs). I'll epoxy the deck first after sanding and then do the same for the hull.

Currently, I have basically finished sanding the deck and the sheer line area so that the kayak looks more like one cohesive unit instead of 2 separate pieces joined together. Now that I am at this point I kind of hate to put fiberglass tape on the outside of the seam, only to resand again (I'm tired of sanding!!!) to make a smooth transition between the hull and deck again. I'm very seriously considering not putting the fiberglass tape on the outside.

I'd really appreciate the opinions of you builders as to the importance of putting the fiberglass tape on the outside.

Thanks,

Rich