Thanks to all of you who responded. I simply cannot believe the wealth of information you all provided from this BB. Outstanding. I think I have the idea of finger (feather) boards and will use them. I hope to get back to everyone with thanks and maybe some questions. I will stay in touch and hope that the kayaks Fr. Joe and I are building are a credit to you all. John Keydash.:

I would like some advice for novices. Two of us are building Little Auks on a
: shoestring budget. It is less expensive for us to rip our 1x6x12 North
: American Red Cedar and then mill it through our router than to purchase
: the kit. We are about finished with our strongback and forms and have our
: cedar. We have heard conflicting stories. On one hand a person writes that
: this is a piece of cake albeit time consuming and then another writes that
: this is a near impossible feat - whatever, we are committed and would like
: to hear from others.

: Aside from safety precautions, are there any special recommendatons for
: ripping the cedar. It appears that one need but mark a kerf and keep
: sawing until nothing is left and move on to the next plank. Should we make
: a special fence? Is is practical that one of us feed the board and the
: other catch it as it is well past the saw? Same questions for the router.
: We have already purchased the bitts.

: We plan to buy some white ash and use that for the outside stem and stern as
: well as the gunwale. We can but a cove on either end and build down for
: the hall and up for the deck. Previously, we had planned to use white
: birch but will follow advice from this bulleting board not to do so. Once
: this is done, you can expect more questions about epoxy and glass - havn't
: a clue about what to do or how do to it. But, you should have seen us
: before we became accomplished with the strongback and forms. Thanks.