Strip Built

I'm going to make a Mystic River Canoe from plans and was wondering how important it is to have 18' strips. Or, should I just attach smaller strips? I guess I can certainly mail order them if it comes to it although wonder if it is cheaper to mill my own..

I have a router table and tablet saw but it seems sort of difficult to put  a bead and cove in 18' strips.. but is this how it's done? On the other hand, if I connect a bunch of smaller strips, I imagine it will have color variations.

does anyone use the festool rotary sander for sanding strip built kayaks ?   i'm thinking about getting the 5 inch. 

Festool 571782 RO 125 FEQ Rotex Sander

hi all, 

its been  a while and i am working on a new project....a 90% frej (15 ft length and 19 inches beam) that i am trying to build up very light for my wife.

the basic approach is 3/16 red cedar with 4 oz s glass inside and out, internal seam kevlar taped,  keyhole cockpit and a target weight fully rigged of 22 lbs.

given the hull form, it looks pretty important to have a skeg and wanted to see if anybody had suggestions for good plans that are easy to build or a well constructed skeg that can be bought/installed.

I wondered if anyone has built eiter of these designs: Redfish "Silver" of Laughing Loon "Disko Bay"?

In my ongoing search for an ultra-light, lower-volume build

I am toying with making one of Rob Mack's Aleut doubles but at 21' it's too long so I need to be able to store and transport it in two halves. Has anybody come up with a good system?

I am in the process of converting an old boat trailer into a 4 place kayak trailer. The frame is 2.5" square tubing with two 2.5" square vertical posts 54" high and 80" apart with two 48" storage boxes slightly recessed on each side of center and just ahead of the axel. This has been a part time project all summer and from day one I did not know how I was going to hang the kayaks or secure them down. I have reached the point I have to make a decision and I have - - - - nothing :((

Hello all,

I am building the Guillemot based on the lofting chart provided in The Strip-Built Sea Kayak. I've drawn the forms out and cut them according to the numbers given.

I haven't built anything yet, but have been kicking the idea around for several years now. I've done a lot of looking, reading, watching and such. I understand that the "traditional" hull wood is red cedar. I tend to not follow tradition.  I have the opportunity to fell and mill some black walnut and should be able to get some long, straight 8/4 planks. Reading the bark, I have strong hopes that they should yield some long clear grain sections that could be used in a kayak. As well as a few sections that will likely have some curl.

I did the end pour in the bow of my Guillemot this afternoon.  It’s a sunny day and I noticed a lot of light inside the boat. Attached is a picture looking down into the bow from the fore hatch. Is this something to be concerned about?  I knew all along I had some gaps between strips, but this surprised me.   I have 4 oz cloth on the outside and 6 oz on the inside