In the previous video I installed two strips, the Sheer Strip which follows the shear line and then the second strip which follows a more natural bend. Between these two strip there is a gap at each end. This gap needs to be filled with what I call "Cheater Strips".

All the strips follow the first one in one way or another, therefore it is important to get the first strip along the sheer right. On most of my plans I include a mark that indicates the location of the sheer. This mark is typically placed at an angle to the side of the form.

The easiest way to set up the forms for woodstrip kayak is using an internal strongback. Here I use a 2" x 4" x 13' aluminum extrusion with 1/8" thick walls. The bow end has been tapered so it can reach farther into the bow of the heavily rockered boat.

Cutting strips is always a little tedious. It is primarily a matter of feeding the wood through the saw. When you intend to bookmatch the strips on the boat you also need to keep the strips in order.

I've started building a Petrel for a customer. I'll be using 3/16" western red cedar, book matching and building without staples. In this video I'm doing one of the first steps necessary to build a strip-planked boat from scratch. I'm cutting the forms.

NEW

A guide to constructing small boats with wood strips and epoxy.

NOTE: If you are thinking of signing up for this class, please do so early. I will need at least 3 weeks notice to be sure to have enough material prepared for everyone. - Thanks, Nick

I need to ship out a boat and decided it would be good protection to have a fabric kayak cover defending it from scratches. For these purposes I do not need a weatherproof fabric so I went to the local fabric store and picked up some knit jersey material.

Believe it or not, there are still people out there who prefer reading a good, old-fashioned print catalog over going online and browsing through web pages. In fact, you may be one of those people. If so, I have put together a catalog. Due to the scale of my business and the demand for catalogs, it does not make sense to print up 20,000 copies at a time. Instead I have found a print-on-demand publisher who does a great job at a reasonable price. MagCloud was developed by Hewlett-Packard to print magazines.

This one day workshop at the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking in Manchester CT will provide interested boatbuilders a solid overview of the strip-planked method of building small boats.