I just finished a skin-on-frame frame built mostly from redwood.

It works nicely, cuts and sands almost as easily as cedar, and its a little less easy to dent, but it does have its quirks you'll need to be mindful of. Thin strips are pretty floppy, even my 2.5" x 0.75" gunwales were like cooked spagetti noodles, but glued up the frame is plenty rigid.

It does splinter/split easily, but a little CA glue/super glue will hold down any splits that start if you catch them early. Listen to the wood when bending into place, it will let you know when it going to split.

I also paid special attention to grain direction and orientation so that the wood was bent in a direction that kept any existing splits from opening up (i.e. placed split areas to the inside of the bend). Flat sawn pieces split much more easily along the grain than rift or quarter sawn. Pay attention to grain direction when planing or cutting bead and cove (depending on what method you use) as the grain will tear out badly when cutting the 'wrong' way.

: Hi all! I'm new (to the forum, kayaks, the whole nine yards).
: I've finally settled on a Night Heron, ordered the plans, started gathering
: tools and preparing my work area, etc. Anyway, on to my questions.

: I understand that redwood is a bit heavier than cedar. I've studied the
: mechanical properties in the chart in Nick's book and elsewhere... but I'm
: having a hard time determining whether the differences are really that
: great from a practical standpoint.

: Here's the thing: I have two great 2x12x16' redwood heartwood boards. They've
: been here for years, and I've just been saving them for a
: "worthy" project. I think they'd make a beautiful boat, with a
: few lighter accents, but I don't think I've seen a full redwood kayak (on
: the internet... I've never seen a wood kayak at all in the "real
: world"), and I don't know if it's a good idea technically. Too heavy?
: Hard to work with? Stop worrying, start ripping?

: Sorry to jump right in asking for info. I promise to contribute as I can,
: even if it's just pictures of progress/blunders.

: And, thank you.

: I DID run across something interesting yesterday while searching for lumber
: prices/values, if anyone's near Pittsburgh (I'm not, and don't know the
: seller). Link below, I hope...