I'd stick with 3/4" thick gunwales. Pine or WRC is fine.

You can laminate the ribs if ya want but I think that's a lot of picky messy work and it wastes wood. Steaming hardwood ribs isn't as bad as it sounds, even with kiln dried stock. There's certainly a learning curve but most folk get the hang of it in fairly short order. I use KD red oak. Some folk use white oak or ash.

It's common to coat the cloth with a single part exterior grade slow dry oil based polyurethane that has been tinted with artists oil paints. The polyurethane you can find will depend on the pollution laws where you live. I stay away from fast dry formulations if I can and I never use water based products. I use 12oz nylon from Dyson and ZAR polyurethane if I can get it.

You might also consider the Cunningham and Starr books. Also have a look at Tom Yost's site, the Brian Schulz site, Korey's site and Kudzu's site.

Brinck is just down the road from me and there are several Brinck boats roaming the area and I paddle with guys who have built theirs from his Instructables and his classes. He does a great job of simplifying the build process.

Just bone up on it a bit and jump in!

Ken Blanton

: Thank you in advance for any knowledge you can pass on.
: I have been researching building a SOF kayak. I have picked up the
: R. Morris book and I am waiting for the W. Brinck book. I have
: of course been reading all I can find online.
: I found a great instructable by nativewater that I am going to
: follow. I have a few questions. If these have all been asked
: before I apologize.

: 1. It seems most plans call for 3/4" gunnwales. I have
: 2.5"x1"x16' Western Red Cedar I can get. Is the
: 1" thickness going to create an issue while bending the
: frame shape?

: 2. Has anyone had luck using 1/16" strips laminated strips for
: ribs. I was hoping that laminating thinner strips would keep me
: from having to steam the ribs.

: 3. Are their any known good options (brand specifically) for
: coating other than the fairly expensive 2 part polyurethane.

: Just as a note I am a new kayaker who has been chomped on by the
: kayak bug. Since cost is a concern and I love building things
: the idea of a SOF really appealed.
: Any help is greatly appreciated.

: Stefan