: I live in Indiana, and I cannot find any cedar boards over 16', and my kayak
: will be 17' long. I know you can join strips together that do not run the
: entire length of the boat, but has anyone built a boat with all shorter
: strips, and no strips running the entire length.

Both of my strip boats were built with strips no longer than 12'. Many were 10' The first few strips along the shear line were scarf-joined together before tacking to the mold to ensure a fair curve. The remaining strips were also scarf-joined but put together while on the mold. The strips are easier to handle this way. If the colors of the two joined strips are similar, the joint is hardly noticable.

: Also, when you join strips, do you have to join them at one of the forms?

The strips can be joined anywhere, but I avoid the 2' closest to the bow and stern because of the bending stresses that are typical there. I put a clamp on the joints.

: All of the cedar boards that I have seen are full of knots. I couldn't find one board that was free of knots, including 8' boards.
: Do I have to rip the wood, and then cut of the knots, making the boards even shorter?

Yes, knots will make the strips shorter when you cut them out. The best, low-knot western red cedar that I could find locally was 2" x 6" "decking timber" -- not 3/4" boards, so you might want to look for those. The boards are then cut down to 3/4" on table saw.

John C
Dallas, Texas