Hi Scott,
Thanks for sharing these photos of your exceptional detail work. I really enjoyed viewing them. These photos are timely for me considering the stage of my Guillemot. I am primarily attending to detail work on the bow and stern external stems, and the kayak ends.

My design goal is to have a more blunted bow and stern. This is for durability over time, and for safety reasons around other kayakers. The laminated ash stems will be completed before any fiberglassing, but I am thinking of creating solid wood ends (perhaps ash) after the kayak hull and deck are joined together.

I would use a pull saw to cut off two or three inches at the bow and stern. I would then shape solid wood ends that have a 3 inch or so internal tenon that would become incorporated into the end pour.

This means that the stems and kayak ends would have to be fiberglassed after the deck and hull have cured. I would sand the cured epoxy for a good mechanical bond, and use bias-cut fiberglass to conform to the contours.

Any comments on my ideas are appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris