It Will Continue

I had originally planned to start a new blog when I started a new kayak Build, but it occurs to me that I have already written enough about "my next build" on this blog, so I might as well continue here. 

As aforementioned, I decided to go ahead with using my cedar strips, without the coves and beads.Yesterday, I planed all the strips down to a thickness just under 1/4' (7/32?) with my (repaired) thickness planer. Quite a lengthy job, and I made, in the parlance of the Younger Generation, an Epic Mess.  After cleaning up this morning, I stacked the strips & counted the lineal feet-700, about twice as much red cedar as white. I hope its enough-don't want to have make more!

The Next Plan

So, when we had last left this saga, I had given up on the idea of making my own bead-and-cove strips, because I had planed the strips too thin. However, after more reading, I discovered that you can indeed, build a strip deck without the coves and beads, by planing a "rolling bevel" as necessary, into each strip. You can even plane the strips thinner than 1/4", maybe 3/16 (weight savings). So I'm going to try it that way, challenge myself, get frustrated, learn a bunch along the way, and (hopefully) come out with a good result.
CLC sells bead-and-cove strips of White Cedar and Western Red Cedar. I could not find any decent White Cedar anywhere, but the nice gentleman at Liberty Cedar, after hearing my plans, suggested Alaskan Yellow Cedar. Its very nearly white in color, but it seems very hard & heavy for "cedar".  I'd better use it sparingly, for "accents"

Plans & Projects, Continued

I decided  that I couldn't bring myself to attack the beautiful deck of my kayak with a jigsaw for any reason. so I put a fresh coat of varnish on, and tried to sell it on EBay and CLC's website. Unsatisfactory results on Ebay, and some interest  from a guy on the CLC site, but no sale. Its hanging from the rafters in my basement right now. I decided to build a new SW17 Hybrid, and try to sell the old 'yak in the spring, when people are acually interested in kayaks.
Unfortunately, I also decided to try to mill my own bead-and-cove strips.  After spending over $100 on wood,  generating at least two bags of wood shavings, much table sawing and planing , I realized that I'd planed the strips too thin. I could not cut a strong "cove", no matter how I adjusted the  router. So I now have a significant pile of too-thin cedar strips in my basement. I even managed to wreck my back in the process, somehow. The web page I read about how to do it said to mill the strips "a fraction of an inch thicker than 1/4", but I really think it would have to be almost 1/16' to leave room for a strong cove.  So I gave up on the idea, and decided to buy an entire kit this winter.