: ...who built a CLC West River 180 using this method, both hull and deck. As I
: recall, he said it was the Project From Hell, and would never do it again.

It is actually a West River 164, and I did build it "wrong" in the sense that I tried to assemble it as if it were plywood. So, when I had to bend the panels, for one example, the deck, having been glassed on the inside (due to its strip construction) but not the outside, started to crack in the strips. The epoxy lines holding the strips together were much stronger than the wood, thus it tried to split in the weaker wood instead.

As long as you are somewhat willing to re-invent (adapt?) established construction methods, this is still doable. As far as being a boat goes, it's a fine boat. All it's 'problems' are due to it's builder's inexperience rather than a fundamental flaw with the idea of substituting cedar for plywood.

I've had two years to reconsider better ways of doing it, and I'm in the middle of designing another project using Carlson's Hull program. Unless I find something that really stumps me, I'll do this hybrid thing again.

It will, however, be much more complicated than using plywood for the hull. The deck lends itself much more readily to using strips. Once the hull is built, one can fashion temporary deck beams, a la 'forms', and proceed as if it is a conventional strip project.

Rather than assembling a sort of 4' x 17' (more or less) panel made out of strips, say for the hull panels, I'll still make each panel individually, with the proper curvature. This worked okay in the first boat. So, when I use 1.5" wide strips, I start the top of each panel with 'full' strips, and make any cuts on the bottom of the lowest strip in each panel- You'll never notice that.

I did have trouble twisting the keel panels almost 90 degrees at each end, and I had to glass those beforehand. The other panels did not need that extra step. Joe Greenley has suggested that I glass each panel on the inside as they are assembled, then just tape inside the hull, and that may be what I do.

I'm not sure from your posting just how you envision doing this all. Transporting 18' panels will not be easy in any event. If what you can do is cut all your strips first, in anticipation of assembling them elsewhere, that is still doable if they are 10'-12' long.

There's a bit more on the Hybrid Boat From Hell at my humble website. Emailed comments or questions will be welcomed; sometimes they help me figure things out for myself as well.

Good luck to you.

Pete Roszyk,
in Snohomish, Washington