I agree with Kirk that one gets some satisfaction from taking very basic materials and ending up with something that is quite sophisticated and beautiful. The kit may be an option if you are in a hurry and want to get on the water sooner, or if you lack basic heavy tools, but if the point of the exercise is the actual building of the boat, why not enjoy the whole experience.

If you have a table saw, consider a narrow kerf blade, it can, should, be a small diameter, for added stability. It will make strip ripping more accurate, less dusty, and less wasteful. I have blades of 1.7mm. They are cheap and very sharp. Throw them away when they lose their edge.

Large bench planes for final thicknessing are overkill. One of the portable DELTA OR DEWALT thicknessers is also a very useful tool to buy with the saved money.

There is something very satisfying about milling your own strips. You can choose if you want them figured or quarter sawn, you can mix in other timbers with contrasting colours, etc.

The station forms are no big deal. Just jig-saw close to the line and finish off with bench mounted disk sander or a belt sander clamped on it's side.

If you have the time and can assemble all the materials without too much hassle, start from scratch. It's fun.

Et