: I made about a dozen 20 foot long strips last night. I cut a bunch of planks
: into strips slightly over 5/16" thick. I then scarfed them at a ratio
: 1 to 12, using a jig similar to the one that Spidey posted. (the jig
: worked great). I glued them up using waterproof Titebond glue (is that a
: good choice?).

: After the glue dried I sent the strips through my planer and planed them on
: both sides and made them 1/4" thick. I then used the flute and bead
: cutter and profiled both edges. When I showed them to my wife, she
: couldn't find the joints.

: I'll probably wait till I get my plans to make any more. No use making too
: many long ones and wasting wood. So, I think I'll go paddle my plastic
: kayak this morning.

: This is a great board to get information when you are learning. Have a good
: day all.

: John

Hi John,

Hey, Hey- slow down.,..sounds like you definitely have the skills and tools to do an excellent job and your first kayak will be much better constructed than my 400th! (only 399 to go!). Be sure to check the archives,as there is a wealth of info. about each specific step. For instance, I remember some discussion about the differences between Titebond and Titebond II.

After a while you will know which builders are making 1st class kayaks and offer excellent advice vs. 1st time rookies working on S&G yaks like me. There are a phenominal number of little tips, such as making clamping jigs, etc. that will make your work go smoothly- you've already found Don's jig on Spidey's site. Go to the library and get a couple of the kayak building books to help make decisions about staples vs. no staples, cove and bead vs. flat edge, fiberglass layups, coatings, etc. For instance, I like the "no staple" look, but that is easy for me to say, as I can't "walk the walk" (yet).

Good luck with your project - my guess is that you will have a beautiful stripper faster than I made the S&G. Anyway, it's fun for all of us, whether an amateur building an S&G or a pro woodworker doing a stripper.

John B.