hi liz;
i'm a bit farther along than brian is on the r morris boat. lay out the stems as in the book, but do it on cardboard or 1/8" plywood. i had to modify them quite a bit before they looked right. i have yet to decide what i will use for the skin but it will be either g dysons polyester or the recomended balistic nylon.
i met mr. morris a couple of weeks ago at the wooden boat festival at granville island, and checked out his boats. his baidarka is a real jewel!
the beauty of his method is that the boat is built to fit the paddler.
rough estimates show that my boat should come in closer to 35 lbs than 40. i used wrc for the frame and yellow cedar for the ribs. r.m. admittted to never haveing tried useing red cedar.
all the best;
daren.....