: I have been to several kayak and canoe museums and looked at the
: old strip-built boats. The canoes were built with clenched canoe
: tacks rather than glue, and of course were restored by the
: museum with a varnish finish without glass and epoxy underneath.
: They do not have the perfect glass-like finish that modern
: strip-builders desire, and slight strip-to-strip misalignment is
: tolerated instead of being sanded out, but they still look
: great.

: It occurs to me that much of the desire for a perfect finish is
: because the glass-epoxy surface shows up every imperfection.
: Such mirror finishes also highlight the small scratches that
: everyday will add.

: Since my stripper is built with ribs like the olde-tymers, and I
: intend to treat it with respect, it does not require glass to
: hold it together. Therefore I suspect it does not need the
: perfect auto-body quality finish that is the subject of this
: thread, and will still look great with the semi-gloss paint and
: varnish finish I plan to use.

: Anyone care to confirm - or reject - that suspicion? I'm not trying
: to down-play the need for an excellent finish under glass or
: denigrate those who aspire to perfection instead of mere
: adequacy, just wondering if I need to achieve it on a boat that
: will not be glassed.

Back in the 1950's, my Dad bought a Lakefield cedar-strip runabout, constructed as you describe.
My hazy recollection was that it was very smooth and glossy when we first got it- varnished interior, varnished topsides, painted below the waterline outside.
After a winter drying out in the garage, the first launch of the season was exciting....luckily we got it back to the ramp and the trailer before it sunk.
After that, the spring ritual was a good 'bath' with the lawn sprinkler, and I can recall my father actually filling it half-full for a few days to get it to swell enough to be watertight.
Perhaps those strip misalignments you noticed in the museum boats were the result of shrink/swell cycles over time?
I've seen canoes without their canvas covering, hanging as 'works of art' in restaurants as well.

A nice layer of glass and epoxy will hide a lot of small imperfections, and make the boat waterproof in spite of my sloppy workmanship. Without that, you will need higher standards of joinery and finish, IMO.