>The aw top that's on my van was made from a combination of both hand
>lay-up and chop mat. I've work in fiberglass kayak building and some
>boat building. In Sea Kayaks this can be a common method for
>production. Chop mat does have it's advantages over hand lay but if you
>were going to take your time I would agree with Gary and lay the whole
>thing up with cloth.

It's probably semantics, but someone mentioned using a chopper gun with
compressed air to spray in the glass fiber and resin mix.
By hand lay up, I was thinking in terms of a glass cloth and mat laminate.
So hand laying the mat fabric. A layer of mat, then a layer of cloth, then a
layer of mat etc. The mat fabric looks liked chopped up strands of fibers
pressed together.  Kind of like oriented strand board used as sheathing in
house construction.
I doubt any Kayaks are made using a chopper gun, too much weight and less
rigid.  Shower stalls are chopper gun.

I wonder if the original AW tops are chopper gun or hand lay-up?
Chopper gun looks rougher and more inconsistent.  Hand lay-up is smoother as
it is rolled out.
I assume the AW inside liner is thin and light, this would suggest hand
lay-up.

Gary Lee
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/gary2a/vw.htm