I think you would find, in addition to the other issues already identified, that strips ripped from non-marine grade plywood would be very frustrating to work with. If you try to bead and cove them, I expect that you would end up with many rough edges due to the plies not machining smoothly. If you try to bevel them with a plane, you will also end up with rough edges, and a frustrating planing experience due to the mixed grain direction. Also, I expect that plywood strips would be prone to breaking when bent or twisted due to voids and weak spots in the laminate. Just guessing from experience with other plywood projects - I haven't tried using plywood strips. If you seriously consider going this route, I suggest doing some testing before you commit to ripping a lot of material.

If I was you, I would get the best spruce that you can, and rip it up knots and all. Just cut out the knots and use the shorter strips with butt joints. You will get a structurally fine kayak, and if you keep your strips organized by the boards you rip them from, you may find some useful color variation even in Spruce.

Good luck,

Allan Edie

: After the first SOF build, I can only state; I'm bugged. No regrets
: in this respect , we all need to die somehow :) .

: I would like to try a strip boat, hence the problem:

: Here in the Carpathians we do have spruce (picea abies) and pine
: (pinus silvestris) but clear planks is nowadays really hard to
: find or even impossible for me.
: I've been thinking at making strips from 6 mm(barely under
: 1/4") plywood. The choice would be the 6 mm Okoume
: construction plywood ( no marine plywood here). The strips would
: be cut lengthwise. I might even dare to try bead&cove.
: Any thoughts against this idea?

: bg