“How often are they used? Mine was a few times per week, for about a year. Also, you may think the plywood is OK. I thought so as well, until the bow almost fell apart. The rot must have existed long before, but it was not so noticeable. There is no way of knowing how the wood is doing all the way up in the bow until you cut the fabric open.”

My Long Shot is 4 years old? I use Marine grade Douglas fir with just an oil coating on it. It has been a test bed for new ideas. I have reskinned it at least 3 times so I have seen first hand what shape the frame was in. Not a sign of rot anywhere. As for use, it was my most used boat.

Obviously there is no way for me to know what happened to yours but I suspect the epoxy was the main reason. I know it goes against the grain here, but I am not a fan of coating wood with epoxy and I strongly suspect that was the reason for the failure.

A lot of good wooden boats (big boats, not just kayaks) have been ruined by slathering them with epoxy in the name of keeping water out. Then all it takes is one small spot that allows water to seep into the wood. Once there, it can't escape. The wood stays wet and the results are a rotten boat. Go over the Wood Boat forum and read about epoxy coating and you will see it is not the Magic Bullet it has been proclaimed. It is possible but in practice it is very hard to achieve and keep a perfect seal.

Again, no way to know but I suspect that is what happened in your case. I have built and designed a lot SOF boat and I have never had one rot. I have never used epoxy in mine and I simply coated the wood with oil but I am starting to lean toward just leaving the wood bare.