: First time kayak builder here, About half way through the hull of a Great
: Auk. I have planned to make a pinstriped deck area fore and aft of the
: cockpit. I want to alternate light cedar, Padauk, and figured maple. I
: understand that I will add some weight using hardwood, but it's not much.
: Almost all the strips will be flat and straight. I read in another post
: about some hardwoods causing problems with adhesion. I hadn't thought
: about that. Am I asking for trouble using figured maple? I was only
: thinking of the sanding issues of dishing out the softer cedar between the
: hardwoods. Any tips for that process as well?

: The pic shows loose strips in the intended orientation.

Here is some figured maple on my Shooting Star baidarka bow and stern. Launched in 05. No adhesion/delamination problems. Go for it.

--S