Whoops, maybe 'greybeard' wasn't quite the phrase I was looking for. Why, I'm still so young peach fuzz is still my bag, couldn't grow a beard if I had to. Well, okay, at least it's kinda partially true....

You say you've completed one kayak? That makes you a veteran builder, sir - please do not try to pass yourself off as a total noob. I have a hard enough time keeping things straight around here without you throwing a bunch of curve balls at me.

I use end blocks to create hard points for mooring holes. I carve chunks of cedar instead of doing end pours because epoxy is too expensive, too heavy, and too messy for me. External stems I add because they impart a real finished look to the boat, and I use cedar to keep 'em light. All that is very neat and tidy in my mind. Internal stems, on the other hand, are mysterious little affairs to me, so unless/until I am able to think up a use for them, I'll skip it as an extra unnecessary step that only adds work and weight.

But the moral to my heartwarming little story is not to do as I do, but to know WHY you do as you do. Which you already get since you're asking the question in the first place. So never mind. :-)

: I understood that you are using the block of cedar as an
: alternative to the end pour. My question regarding the
: 'difference' is, why not also use it as an internal stem as an
: aid during construction? It doesn't seem to add any less weight
: if you put it on after.

: D

: P.S. I'm also a 'greybeard.' I'm just new relative to kayak
: building since I'm working on my second.