: How much wood does it take to build a guillemot? (I'm sorry if this has been
: discussed ad infinitum, but I couldn't find it.) I'm having trouble
: converting the Materials List in Appendix One of Nick's book into
: something that jibes with what I'm seeing on websites - inches of strips
: into board feet of lumber and all that.

My general rule is to take the circumference of the boat at its widest point and use that number as my base for full length 1/4 by 3/4 strips.

So measure around the middle form. Within an inch is good enough. Let's say it is 48 inches.

So, I'd need 48 strips that were 1 inch wide to go around the whole boat at that point. Of course at the ends I'd need far fewer strips, so buying 48 one-inch wide strips would be more than I'd need.

Since I'm going to use 3/4 inch wide strips instead of 1 inch strips, I'll use more at the middle, and fewer at the ends, and it will average out to about 48 full length strips -- or the equivalent. If you bead and cove the strips, add on about 15% as it makes them narrower.

I get 13 to 14 strips from a 1x6. Some people use saws with thinner kerfs and get a few strips more.

You'll have a hard time buying 18 foot lumber in nominal 1 inch size. It is not commonly stocked. You might find some 2x stock. However 10-foot and 12-foot long lumber is fairly common, and easier to get home. Wrap a towel around a few boards, lay them on the roof of your car, and tie the ends to you bumpers.

I buy 1x8 and 1x6 boards, rip them in half and scarf them back together to get a long, narrow board which I rip into strips. With a 2 foot long scarf joint on a nominal 1x3 (the two halves of the 1x6) I get a scarf ratio of about 1:8. On the 1x8s, I get a scarf ratio of about 1:6. With common carpenters glue these hold just fine. A 10 foot 1x6 gives me an 18 foot 1x3 ( I lose 2 feet from the scarf) If I need longer, then I start with 12 foot boards and turn them into 22 foot boards.

Assuming 6 or 7 strips from each of those long 1x3s, I'd need 8 of them for 48 to 56 full length strips. That is the same as 8 1x6's which are 10 feet long.

Now something to consider is that you do not need a lot of full length strips; just enough to get started with. In fact, if you only had full length strips you would need to trim many of them shorter. By ripping and scarfing a single 10 foot board you get all the full-length strips you need. You can complete your stripping with the other seven 10 foot boards. As these are not scarfed they there is no waste. and you would have an excess amount of wood. So either buy 1 less 10-foot board ( a total of 7, not , or buy seven to eight 8-footers and one 10 footer. If the wood has a lot of knots in it, buy an additional board.

If cedar for decks is not available by you, then use redwood. Works just as well, but it is a darker color when finished. Ordinary pine makes a great contrast with this, and you should have no problem getting a 10 foot pine ( or spruce or fir) 1x6. Certainly 8 foot lengths of pine, spruce or fir are about the most common boards in the lumberyard.

Don't waste your money on special orders of "clear" boards. buy what is available at your local lumber dealer, where you can pick through the bin and select your pieces. A few tight, small knots add a lot of "real wood" textre to your boat, and they don't impair the strength. You'll turn 1/3rd to 1/2 of each board into sawdust when you rip your strips. Most knots get converted to sawdust as easily as good wood. Let your ripping process reduce the size and amount of them for you.

If you have a nice board with a huge, lousy knot in the middle, cut out the knot with two angled, paralle cuts, and slide the pieces together again with som glue. Yup, you just "scarfed" your board back together and it will be 3 inches shorter, but the knot is gone, gone, gone.

You can search the archives for more information on ripping strips. It is a great place to spend a few evenings immersed in ideas from lots of previous builders.

Hope this helps.

PGJ