: This an example of how one thing gets twisted and distorted into
: something else.

: Ted Moores introduced the separate internal and external
: "stems" method in his book "CanoeCraft" to
: solve a problem
: he had with glassing. He found when he used a second layer of glass
: for seam reinforcement, like you would over the stems,
: This second layer of glass would be visible as a definite lighter
: colored area. For purely aesthetic reasons, he used internal and
: external stem pieces to eliminate this glass stem reinforcement. I
: repeat, he DID NOT ADD A LAYER OF GLASS OVER THE STEMS.

: This was carried over into his kayak building also resulting in
: "sheer clamps" to join the hull and deck of a kayak
: WITHOUT an external
: glass reinforcing layer.

: Few people seemed to understand this and made internal and external
: stems AND added a second layer of glass reinforcement over them.

: Why? Well having a break of your glass at the stems and seams just
: seems wrong, right?

: Anyway, a lot of people like the "look" of contrasting
: colored external stems. So be it.

: Is making and working with internal and external stems easier than
: simply joining strips at the stems. It's another hoop to jump
: through before you can
: start stripping your boat.

: I think it's more work and added weight. And I love a lightweight
: boat.

: I've built over 70 boats without stem pieces and have had no calls
: with problems.

: It's your choice!

: All the best,
: Rob

Thanks for the clarification Rob. I sure wasn't trying to twist or distort anything. I was just unsure which way to go and since this is all pretty new to me; I just didn't completely understand my options. When I read your book; it made perfect sense to just overlap stips at the end of the stem forms, and then when the plans came with the mini set of instructions, and that suggested internal stems, that made perfect sense as well. What I really wasn't clear on was if you use internal stems, if you also HAD to use external stems. I think after reading your response, I'm just going to go without stems. I'd just as soon start stripping rather than messing with adding stems when I'm all ready to strips. The other thing that makes this an easy decision is that I can't think of anywhere that I'll use the boat where I'd need to worry about rocks.