: I saw a message posted somewhere from a guy who said he built a red cedar
: strip canoe in 80 hours, including the time to build the strongbacks. Is
: that possible? I see people talking about anywhere from 250 to 500 hours
: for many of the kayaks I see here.

Peter I built my first canoe from David Hazens book in 150 hours. No frills. No design, other than trying to get the color symetrical on both sides. I cut all of my strips from 1x6x18 stock I purchased at a local lumberyard. I made my own spacer-blocks for the gunnels. I purchased pre-made caned seats.
You can do it. Don't get hung up on the time. Remember the more time you spend up front..... Don't let people tell you," you can't build a boat" or "why dont you just buy one" or the classic "will it float?" When you are taking those folks for paddles in your hand built craft, you can ask them, "how does it float?" and wait for the smile. Oh yeah, be prepared to explain to everyone that sees your canoe how you built it.

Start building and don't stop. It's good for your soul. Elliott