: Brian,

: I have the same problem in Texas finding clear wood. Home Depot and
: Lowes are where I got my WRC. I did pick thru the lumber piles
: until I found some clear "enough". Realistically I was
: lucky to find 2 boards in a new stack that I was willing to use.
: They put in a new stack about every 2-3 days, so I was able to
: find enough in 1 weeks dedicated looking. You have to let it dry
: since it is not Kiln dried, some cutting to size will make that
: faster. My plan now days is to try and find a board with one
: significant knot, cut that out and scarf the board with epoxy,
: then cut the stringers. I wish I lived up north. The dacron or
: nylon skins from George Dyson or Jeff Horton (Kudzu Kayaks) ends
: up being a lot cheaper and lighter than plywood.

: I was thinking about Basswood for the frame. The one local real
: lumberyard has long, very clear lengths of wood, close to the
: same density of WRC. It is a plain wood, but you can't see the
: wood in general. I have never seen anyone discuss using it. It
: also was the cheapest wood I could buy. It is mostly cut into
: short fat lengths for wood carvers.

: If you really want a plywood skin try Baltic birch. The stuff I can
: get locally (1/8" minimum) is very good quality (minimal
: knots and voids in the layers) but it is an interior glue - have
: to be coated with glass and epoxy, and heavier than fir or
: Occume or lauan. If you want a ply skin there is no reason to
: make a frame - it will just make it heavier for no benefit. Lots
: of plans for stitch and glue - I have one and it is tremendously
: stiff and strong using 4mm (0.160") Occume. It is also
: heavier than an equivilent SOF.

: Marc

Yea, I looked at Lowe-Depot a couple times and the only thing that was reasonably clear was the tongue and groove. I found one piece of 12 foot cedar that was clear but it had other issues... I finally found some spruce 1x6 that had some tiny knots so I think I can make the single chine stringers since they are larger.

Have you built any boats with basswood? We've carved with it and I like the feel but I've never seen a piece longer than 36".

Plywood SOF has the ease of construction advantage because you can attached the plywood to the stringers and then trim it to shape. The stations don't stay in the boat, only the 3/4" stringers, so the weight increase isn't that much. But all that is moot because this boat is going to be the 950 ballistic nylon from Spirit Lake unless someone can tell me where to get similar material for less than $11.50/yd.