: Can someone tell me where I can buy cedar strips or cedar lumber
: for building a kayak? I live in Tacoma Washington and the only
: clear straight grain lumber I can find they want $10.10 a board
: foot. And I still have to rip it myself. It seems as thought
: clear cedar just doesn't exist int the north west. I have been
: looking for a source for 5 months and I am so frustrated I am
: ready to abandon the whole project. I tried tight knot cedar but
: it breaks to easily at the knots.

There's lots of cedar up here in the PNW, but it is expensive.
Local (Victoria BC) prices from a commercial specialty lumber supplier here:
http://www.westwindhardwood.com/price-softwoods.php#cedar_red

$7.50/bd ft

Pre milled strips are $0.65 per linear foot.

If you can find a small sawmill, you could probably get cedar more cheaply by buying direct.

Using a cheaper wood, or shorter lengths, or scarfing after cutting out the knots, will reduce the cost.

See:
http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/guillemot/faq/how_do_i_build_a_kayak/how_much_wood_do_i_need_to_build_the_boat
http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/guillemot/faq/how_do_i_build_a_kayak/how_much_will_it_cost_to_build_a_kayak

So you are looking at about $2-3-400 for lumber?

If you just want a kayak (vs the experience of building), it will be cheaper to buy a used commercial boat. Building is fun, but it doesn't save much (any) money.