> I am starting a skin on frame kayak, I am planning on using ash as the
> frame, except for the plywood structural pieces that the 3/4 X 5/8 strips
> of ash are attached to. am I on the right track here? I see alot of
> articles and homepages where people are using cedar and other woods. can
> someone who has done this contact me and swap info to make this a
> pleasurable experience?

If you are fortunate enough to be able to afford and obtain ash in the lengths needed, then your boat building should be pleasureable, and your craft should be wonderful. The folding kayak I have been working on called for ash for the stringers, but I was not able to find any at a price I could afford at the time, so I used cedar, and just cut the pieces a bit bigger on the assumption that (size for size) ash was stronger than cedar. For example, if my plans had called for 3/4 by 5/8 ash I probably would have used 7/8 x 3/4 cedar, and merely altered the shape of the notches in the frames to suit these changes. (I had plenty of cedar around -- and already scarfed into long lengths -- as I was slicing strips for a canoe.)

Changes in wood species are pretty common. You make do with whatever is locally available. Paul Jacobson