Hi Scott, I think that You can build a very nice looking kayak wihtout the use of the bead and cove strips. I built my canoe with rolled bevels. I realize that kayaks will likely require more severe twists and angles in the strips, but beveling is not difficult with a little practice. There was a thread here a while ago, that had some good disscussion about beveling strips. There were some good ideas there. There are definitely ways to get the bevels of the strips very accurate. One disadvantage is that the stripping process takes longer, since you will be taking the time to bevel each strip as you go along (though there will be some strip that require little or no beveling). This might limit you to a couple of strips per side per day, depending on how much time you have. A bit more fairing is required after you get the boat stripped, bit it is not too bad.....you will get tired of sanding no matter which way you go....... One thing to think about is that with beveled edges, you can easily see where you have gaps and fix/refit that spot before you glue (remember the advice earlier to NOT over bevel the inside of the strip). Re bead and cove: It is easy to allow unseen gaps in bead and cove strips, if you're not careful to make sure that they are tightly seated, and you won't be able to see thes little gaps, as the thin edges of the cove will cover them. BUT, they may be revealed during fairing and sanding, if you happen to take enough material off in those spots. I'd like to try using bead and cove on my next strip boat, so that I could make a more educated and meaninful (at least to me) comparison. Most folks seem to prefer bead and cove. I think that there may be less work involved with bead/cove, so if time is of most importance, you might consider it more strongly.

Garland

: I am just starting to build the Great Auk cedar strip kayak. I am finishing
: cutting the forms and hope to start stripping in the next two weeks. My
: question is this: How necessary is it to use cove and bead strips? Will I
: be able to make a beautiful, functional boat without the cove and bead? Is
: the time and effort in making the cove and bead strips worth it?

: Thanks,

: Scott