: I know it depends on lots of factors, but can you generalize that one is
: lighter than another? If you build the same boat using comparable
: materials (say 4mm ply and 3/16 strips; same cloth and resin), wouldn't
: they be the same weight except for the difference in the type of wood and
: how much resin it would suck up?

If you build the same boat then the strip built boat will be a tad lighter becase the cedar itself is a tad lighter than the pine, firs, spruce, occume, or whatever that the plywood is made of.

But, there are many designs which can not be easily made with plywood, but which can be made with strips. The biggest difference comes when looking at rounded hulls.

Consider trying to fit a circle inside a square box, or an oval inside a rectangular box. Grab a piece of paper and draw one out.

The curved perimeter of the circle or oval is going to be less than the perimeter of the box.

Now, draw a horizontal line and "cut" that box in half and you'll see how a curved hull can have the same beam, or width as a "boxy" hull, but with a smaller perimeter.

It will use less material, so it will weigh less. Oh, and it should have a lower wetted surface area, so it will have less drag and possibly be easier to paddle. or maybe go a little faster.

The advantage to strip-built hulls is the freedom to incorporate rounded shapes, and complex shapes into the hull design. To do something like that with plywood calls for using more and narrower panels, and then you have to back up each seam with a fillet.

As I see it, if you want a light boat you go with a lightweight cloth skin over a light frame, or maybe an inflatable. Anything beyond that is going to weigh more.

Now the real question (as I see it) becomes one of how much weight can the paddler handle. From what I've seen on car roofs, people are fairly happy with commercially molded plastic boats that may weigh as much as 60 or 70 pounds. There certainly are plenty of them out there. A wood boat which weighed in at 32 pounds (twice the weight of a bowling ball) is about half the weight of a commercial plastic boat, light enough to be handled by most people, and should be something you could build from either plywood or strips. If you are looking for something lighter, then consider a smaller boat.

Did you have any particular design in mind?

Hope this helps

PGJ