I'm in the planning process of building a Sea Tour 15 EXP. I won't be picking up the lumber until mid to late October. My workshop will be my mom's barn... a three hour drive away, so I'll only be able to devote a weekend or two a month to building. It has little to no heat... no more than to warm my hands around (though I'm tempted to finish rigging up the wood stove Dad started). It has no insulation. Epoxy doesn't have a chance of curing in that kind of temperature, so I had to look at alternative methods, or waiting 'til warmer weather. Waiting might make me go stir crazy.

I'm not big on running screws into plywood, between the sheets. I can see the screw forcing the sheets apart, doing a bit of damage in the process. Predrilling should help with that. Pegs don't sound like a bad idea, assuming they don't work their way out and wear against the skin, but I'm afraid my skills at drilling straight holes on cold winter days could get the best of me.

Lashing seems to be pretty easy, especially after watching Kudzu's video: http://www.kudzucraft.com/video/lashing.php . It's strong, while allowing the joint to flex. Everything I've read about skin on frame kayaks implies that their strength and seaworthiness lies in their ability to flex a bit, to give when waves hit, etc. If I screw up lashing a joint, I simply cut it away and start over. A mistake with a power tool is harder to fix.

I plan on notching the stringers slightly to allow the lashing to seat flush, so it doesn't rub against the skin.

: I'm well on my way. I ripped the gunwales and stringers. I also cut
: out the cross sections. I'm ready to start assembling the Sea
: Tour 15R. A question I have is about construction.

: Why do builders use lashing or pegging. Why not use screws with
: epoxy to attach the stringers and gunwales to the cross
: sections? Is there a structural issue, or is it more of an
: aesthectic one.

: Rusty in Annapolis