: In Schade's book he says that using shorter planks - 6'-8' - can be
: preferable to longer ones. I will be painting my boat so I'm not
: worried about the visibility of the joins. My question is there
: any real reason NOT to go with shorter strips. I'm guessing that
: you will need to make sure that your joints do not interfere
: with the fairing of the strips but I'm sure this can easily be
: avoided. Staggering would be benficial as well. I don't think
: they necessarily need top fall on forms, do they?

: Any tips/suggestions/warnings?

: Sean

I use full-length strips (scarfed if necessary) , but I built a couple of canoes 'back in the day' with butt-jointed strips. I recall that they looked (under varnish) and worked fine, but my standards may be low (I use staples).

Kayaks tend to be more curvy'twisty than many canoes.

Never join the strips at a station- Rob is absolutely correct on that.

If you are using bead-and-cove strips, it is a bit easier to get the butt-jointed strips aligned with the previous strip.

You can also try putting a bit of scrap under the join area and fire staples through. (BTW, this is an excellent way to find out how effective your new electric stapler is, in driving staples into fingers.....)

Another strategy is to scarf the strips 'as you go', using a hand saw and a simple jig to cut the angles, and a spring clamp. Some folks do this 'on the boat' or you can improvise a long shelf for a work surface.

Adequate 'portable' table saws are pretty cheap these days, and a few 2x4 , a sheet of plywood, and some screws will build you a safe saw and infeed/outfeed tables for cutting full length strips. (Improvise a proper ripping fence so the strips clear the blade.) Use the driveway or the back yard- it doesn't take that long.

I would never rip with a radial-arm saw, but perhaps I'm a scaredy cat.

Cheers
John