Hi Jan,

I rip a lot of spruce using a 10 inch, 1hp table saw with good results. It is important to use a quality blade of the correct design to leave a relatively smooth finish that can be finished by sanding. Many blades designed for ripping tend to leave a gouges that would have to be planed out. I have made a jig that holds the wood down and against the fence so that I can rip long lengths by myself.

You can also rip strips with a bandsaw. The bandsaw has the advantage of a thinner kerf but that is offset by the fact that you should run the strips through a planer to make them uniform. A well tuned bandsaw with the correct blade selected can do a fantastic job at ripping. When it comes to ripping enough wood for a strip kayak you really need an aggressive blade - the finish and uniformity suffers. I would use the table saw.

I would be concerned that 1/8" (3mm) strips of wood would be strong enough - the grain would have to run very true in the wood.