: Im a big fan of laminating.I love lami deck beams on my kayaks and
: stems on my canoes but I would not recomend lami ribs for a skin
: canoe or kayak. The beauty of a SOF boat is in the flex it
: has..but lami parts have little or no flex at all. I can put two
: of my lami deck beams on the floor and lift my whole body off
: the floor without them bending at all! As David said,you also
: need a mold for each part you are glueing up,line it with waxed
: paper or plastic,smear glue on your wood,clamp it in your mold
: and wait for the glue to dry TOTALLY before you remove them and
: then plane and sand the edges where the glue squeezes out.
: All thats great for stems, a couple deck beams or a coaming,but not
: nessary for ribs. Steaming not that bad man,it's really pretty
: fun after you've done a few. But you may break a couple...it
: just happens than way,don't sweat it just cut a few extas ribs
: just in case.
: You dont need a super high tech steamer box either..all i use is a
: lenght of flexable aluminum duct and an old electric kettle :-)

I don't see why a lam should be any stiffer - or stronger - than an equivalent piece of solid wood. The glue has no tensile strength. But I agree about the extra hassle of laminating compared with steaming.

The advantage of laminating over steaming is it's ability to provide a precise shape for a part that has to be stiff like a stem, without weakening the wood, which does occur if a part has to steamed and bent to the point where the fibers on the inside of the bend are close to collapse.