: It might be nice to know WHY someone suggests a method of construction.

One thing you had not mentioned is the use of the cutwater on skin-on-frame boats. The internal stem and the external cutwater form a two-piece end. With the external cutwater screwed firmly to the internal framing, the seam in the fabric which occurs at each end of the boat is firmly clamped shut. Ragged edges of the fabric which overlaps at the stems is hidden under the cutwater, too.

The fabric is a bit more stressed at the stems, (it can't flex or move away from an impact) and the cutwater provides a great deal of physical protection.

On canvas covered canoes, and on some SOF kayaks, instead of a cutwater a brass band will be screwed on to serve the same purpose. The brass is flexible and does not need to be carefully fitted, so it is faster to apply -- but it is narrower and does not afford as much protection.

All-wood kayaks (strip or S&G) built from designs which are based on native skin-covered boats may retain a cutwater as a design element. Even though its protective function is largely superfluous with the use of modern materials, in these cases ya gotta have it or the boat won't look right.

PGJ