Yeah, I reckon you could do it.

Some of the qualifications that I can think of (remembering that I am a rank amateur) is that you would have to replace your elmers glue with something like aerolite (a water mix powder with a formic acid catalyst that used to have Lloyds of London backing for marine and aeronautical applications, but these days no longer makes such claims).

[I've always found that recorcinol glues need too much precision joining and clamping to work properly for me].

You would definately have to throw in a few ring frames and use permanent fastners.

You would look at using a million (slight exageration) coats of varnish and touch up a little more often or use paint.

You would also use primo-rot resistent wood, preferably a type that doesn't expand much or is prone to splitting (my understanding is that the common woods used for strippers have little natural anti rotting characteristics, but this is overcome by making it almost totally water proof by epoxy sheathing).

However, in practice I don't think the rotting thingy is probably such a bugga boo especially if your kayak is not going to be subjected to heavy (interms of treatment and frequency) use and is treated and stored carefully.

If you looked at caulking the seams this might overcome some of the expanding/contracting problems. I imagine that you could cheat a complete traditionalist approach by considering using a modern compound like silicon caulking (for bathrooms etc).

I am reasonably comfortable with the caulking approach because some years back, I inherited an ancient abandoned edge-planked (planks about 4" wide) sailing dinghy yacht which leaked like a seive. I re-caulked it and it remained sound for the 3 years that I used it. In between sailing sessions, it was stored in the shade under my car port and there were no signs of splitting. However, I am pretty sure it was made of prime kauri timbers which are no longer readily available. It weighed a tonne.

But for me, not being one to rock the boat, I use the contemporary coat the kayak with layers of epoxy and cloth techniques because it makes the kayak surprisingly durable and tough with minimum maintenance worries. These features are particularly desirable for me because I want to use my kayak to death and know my punk kids are going to give my kayak a hard time.

Good Luck
Pete