The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

I used ordinary (non-waterproof) carpenters glue to laminate the stems for my kayak, because the outer stem is well protected behind glass & epoxy, and the inner stem has a generous epoxy coating & isn't exposed to any rough treatment or abrasion. But to attach the outer stem, I used thicken...

Although it is easier, and probably produces less waste, to cut strips at 90* off of the edge of a board (ie. cut quartersawn strips off the edge of a flatsawn board, or flatsawn strips off the edge of a quartersawn board), you can orient the strips any way you want in a board, even diagonally. If y...

I also used the saran wrap method while glassing the stems. Didn't have too much feathering of errant strands to contend with, but all of the wrinkles in the saran translated into a "wrinkled" surface on the underlying epoxy, which probably, in the end, took just as long to deal with. I'm ...

If it were me, I wouldn't fill in the gap at all, I'd just carve/sand it down until the gap no longer existed. Like the bevel you describe, but without any visible bevel line. Yes, you would be reducing the strip thickness within an inch or two of the stem, but I wouldn't worry too much about that, ...

I'd use a cabinet scraper rather than sandpaper, and start as soon as possible, before the epoxy reaches full cure, if possible. Hull looks amazing.

I deviated from Ted's method. I cut the cloth about 3" beyond the stem on both sides. Then as I was wetting out the cloth, I first wrapped one side around the stem, and then the other. When that had partially cured to tacky, I then added a bias-cut strip along the stem, so that in the end there...

Interesting ... if it works somewhat invisibly on a fine guitar, then there wouldn't seem to be any aesthetic issues for a canoe/kayak ... the only thing I can think of is whether it would interfere with epoxy adhesion. That's easy to test, though.

I also drill a hole through the stack at one end, and wire to keep them in order. One other thing I would add. When stacking, be careful about grain orientation. On one of my stems, I had inadvertently flipped half the strips, which made it impossible to plane in a direction that avoided tear-out. P...

Sounds like you're all set for this one. Here's something to keep in mind for the next one ... For some reason, in the big-box stores near me, there seems to be a lot better stock in the 4x4 pile than in the 2x or 1x piles. I also pick through the fence-boards (the ones that are only 5/8" thick...

Nice accent strip on sides & bottom, to tie in to those dark stems.
That'll look good when finished.

I made a mistake when bending & laminating my stems, in that I failed to glue them up with the grain orientation consistent between layers. So I had grain sloping in opposite directions in alternating layers. This made shaping the stems with any kind of plane (I used both spokeshave & low-an...

I'll echo what Pat's Dad and Denis said, and I'll add this ... I have no idea what its actual thickness is, but on my Endeavour, I used a single layer of 6oz glass over most of the hull, with a second layer of 6oz over the "football", and a triple-layer fold/wrap over the stems. This combi...

You could try Kootur Lumber , southwest of Grimsby. Call them first, or email. They're in the middle of nowhere, and there's not always someone there. I have gotten various rough-cut hardwoods there (cherry, maple, red oak, white oak), but never in gunwale-lengths. Even got some decent White Cedar t...

A heat gun works wonders to accelerate ordinary wood glue, as well. The cockpit coaming on my kayak contains about 220 individual pieces of wood, which would have taken far too long if I was waiting 20-30 minutes for glue to cure between sticks. Just hold the piece in place with one hand (inside of ...

I seem to recall reading that someone has done it, but for the life of me, I can't remember who/where. Seems to me, though, that a stitch & glue design would be a better candidate for a skin on frame conversion, given the already hard - or at least angular - chines. The rounded chines of a typic...