: I seem to recall pictures of one of your S&Gs when it was in 7 pieces (do I
: have that number right?) and again when it was reassembled. Some dam(n?)
: encounter or another. So I guess they'll be around as long as you are
: ....there to rebuild them. Otherwise, I'd say you have already outlived at
: least one boat. And that is probably as it should be.

"Probably?" Hmmmmm!

: Don't be shy about getting into tough places with a stripper. You don't need
: to baby them. While the idea of a boat built from strips of wood sounds
: like it would be a fragile craft, the same could be said about boats
: covered with birchbark, animal hides, canvas, 3.2 ounce dacron, thin
: vinyl, and blue poly tarps. Yet boats have been built from these
: materials, and they have proven to be quite durable.

Yep, Mike demonstrated this idea by paddling the West Coast right up to Alaska, so I know they are tough. My Night Heron will be a work of art though and I deliberately plan on babying that one.

: It seems to defy reason, but if you take a look at some of the testing done
: on panels of wood strips you'll see that those made with thinner slices of
: wood are more flexible, and could prove to be more durable. Instead of
: hitting a rock and having the hull crack, it would bend, and the boat
: would bounce off.

I completely understand the greater resiliance of thinner strips. They flex better and therefore are less "willing" to crack. I have seen this through my renovation business. For example, I needed to wrap a baseboard around a curved wall. Had I tried to force it, it would have easily snapped in two. I used my mitre saw to make many grooves in the back of the baseboard. Once done, the baseboard easily wrapped around the curvature. Looks great, too! Folks who see it almost always want to know how I managed to do that. I like to tease them by saying that the power of the mind can bend all kinds of things.

: You are playing with "slippery" coatings for the bottoms of your
: boats, and I suggest you try something like that on the bottom of your
: stripper. I think you'll find it even more effective on the rounder hull
: of a stripper than on a plywood boat. And then I think you'll surprise
: yourself at how durable those strippers are.

I'd rather not coat the Night Heron. I am thinking of wrapping my inlays right around the entire shape of the kayak. Don't want to cover the art work.

: Why not build two strippers? One for show, and one for hard use?

But I am building two strippers. The Night Heron is first, then I will start on a 12' design created by our very own Glen. I have the forms cut for both of them. I'm absolutely itching to get started. Should be able to get on with the Night Heron project by the end of Oct, just after I shut down my reno biz.

Robert N Pruden