Hi All,

I have been preparing make to my first strip style kayak - a Guillemot. I went to the Home Depot to pick up a sheet of plywood for making the forms and happened to notice an incredibly clear piece of 2x6 x 10' of spruce. I wasn't long in going through the whole stack and found 5 more exceptional pieces of wood. For under $6.00 a plank I could not resist bring them home. Lots of uses for such wood but I started thinking of doing the kayak in spruce. I should be able to get enough strips out of six 2x6 x 10 foot planks to strip a kayak - especially with a couple of cedar planks thrown in for contrast.

I remember a discussion a while back about using spruce for a kayak. Spruce, finished with resin and varnish has a beautiful golden glow - a golden kayak with dark accents stripes would be nice.

Has anybody made a kayak from spruce strips?

Any thoughts, suggestions or reservations about using spruce?

Spruce is a bit heavier than cedar but it is stronger - how thin could spruce strips be?

Considering that this is my first strip style kayak I might be wise to stay with 1/4 inch thick strips.

Moving from plywood to strips is going to be fun. I will probably have many questions but I know that I can count on the group for support... group support... support group... Hello my name is Hank and I have an addiction...