: I've been slowly working on my daughter's Sea Flea 11. I've finally cut my
: first bit of wood today for the cross sections. (I've gotten so excited
: that I threw together forms for a Sea Tour 17R for me and cut them out
: too).

: I haven't bought the wood for the stringers yet -- mostly out of ignorance of
: what precisely to buy (I know the site mentions Western Red Cedar... but,
: I'm not 100% certain where to find that.). Anyway- my real question is
: once I do find what I'm after, how long do the boards need to be?

: I know it's an 11' kayak- but, given that the wood will be pushed outward
: around the cross sections, whatever length I buy will be shortened. And, I
: know that whatever I end up with will be cut down to where the boards come
: together. But, how much should I account for? Will a 12' board suffice?
: Or.. a 13'?

: (I hope this makes sense-- I'm truly a woodworking NEWBIE. I had to buy tools
: just to get this far.)

12 footers will be fine. You have to allow some extra for the beam but it's only 3 to 4 inches.

Most lumber yards stock western red cedar for decking, but it's usually so full of knots that it's unusable without lots of scarfs. It is though nice to work with and very light. White pine also works and is alot easier to find. Most of the big box lumber yards have it clear and should be able to find 12 footers. For the bigger boat you'll need to scarf.

If you want WRC, take a look at www.woodfinder.com for local sources.

Bill H.