> Of course, that depends. I just started on my second boat (a Guillemot,
> too), and I've been trying to track my time better than I did on my first
> boat (a Panache). It seems that everyone who sees my boat inevitably asks,
> "how long did it take to build." I then provide them my best
> blank stare. The work was spread out over so long I don't know how long it
> took.

> On the Guillemot, I just put on the first few strips this past weekend. To
> get to the point of laying the first sheer strip, it took me around 36 hrs
> of preparation that included, constructing the box beam, cutting and
> milling the strips, lofting the forms, cutting-out the forms, and getting
> them all aligned and fastened to the strongback. The sheer strips took a
> couple hours. I fiddled and fidgeted with them to get them just right.
> Once the sheer strips are on, the rest of the hull stripping will progress
> more rapidly. I anticipate that it will take me 1 to 1.5 weeks worth of
> evenings to finish stripping the hull.

> I believe that most strip builders report somewhere between 200 and 300
> hours from start of project to boat in the water.

> BTW, are you really building an 18' Guillemot? The plans show the length
> at 17'. Are you adding an extra station?

Thanks for the the comments, very useful.

I want to build an 18' Guillemot for a little extra space for camping. I live in BC and Vancouver Island has amazing 1-3 week routes (check out Tofino area sometime). I have only just begun lofting the forms and my wood won't arrive until mid December. In Nick's book he has a 19' version which I assume he added an extra form. I think that I should be OK by just increasing the spacing of the forms to acheive an overall length of 18', if this is a plan that I'll later regret comments are welcome. The 19' Guillemot has the same width of 21" as the 17', so this looks to me that stretching it out to 18' will not effect the Kayaks handling.

It is good to see there is a forum to ask question while I'm building, the sharing of ideas is helpful. That link for time-frame is excellent!

Sean