: As for the seam I think just about any wood glue would have caused it. A glue
: that dried a lighter color may have helped. Maple, being such a hard wood,
: requires tight tolerances if you don't want a line. This is the first time
: I've had an issue with a glue line. We generally use softwoods for our
: kayak stripping. That helps.

I hadn't actually considered the hardness of the wood as the culprit, but that makes sense.

I plan to use all western red cedar with white pine accents so hopefully that won't be an issue. I guess I'll stick to my plan of doing the hull and see how it goes. Being my first boat, i will probably only paddle it until my next boat is done at which point this one will become my wife's, or a guest boat. Perfect to learn on . . . thanks!