Hi Rick:

I did install internal stems on my Guillemot Expedition Single. Here's a pic if the stem at the bow.

http://sites.netscape.net/evalley/kayak/img/k002.jpg

I made them of a single solid piece of cedar for the internal stems, I cold-molded some mahogany stems for the exterior. I cut the concave curve to fit the sweep of the form. Then I tack-glued the piece to the endforms (it looked like a sword you might have played with when you were 10) and then planed the sides to a fairly even triangular shape (then it really looked like a sword). The goal was to add strength to the bow and stern, and I think it worked by offering another place to glue the strips to at the ends of the boat. Otherwise, they would have been glued only to each other.

Ed Valley