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More strip suppliers

I got a reply from Classic Boat Kits, which has an awesome price on their website of $0.26 per LF. Too good to be true. Their pricing (July 29):

We have prepared a current quote in US funds for the cedar strips you requested. The Western red cedar is all clear, tight, vertical grain old growth stock. It has all been milled from larger timbers to give a good smooth colour consistency.

• 1/4" x 3/4" Western Red cedar bead and cove strips: 50/50 light honey colour and dark
• 360 pcs @ 16' = 5,760' @ $.33/lft = $1,900.80
• Sonotube & Packaging = $50.00
• Ground Freight to a commercially zoned business in Issaquah,Washington = $210.00 (includes insurance, customs clearance & there are no duties)
• Add $66.00 for residential delivery

Total: $2,226.80

On the phone, they mentioned that they had just received a shipment from their eastern supplier. It's a little odd to think that they are getting all their stock from somewhere out here, then shipping it back out here.

Raven sent the following quote (July 23):

360 bead and cove (Western Red Cedar) strips (1/4"(d) x3/4"(w) x 16'(l)) 5760 lineal feet x $0.32 per lineal foot	$1,843.20
Handling and Packaging (4 tubes required)	$80.00
Transport Services: residential delivery (Seattle, Washington)	$153.34
Customs Services: (Norman G, Jensen Inc.)	$50.00

Total: $2,126.34

• The strips would be sent in 4 transport tubes that are very strong. The strips are also wrapped in a foam sheet to ensure protection of the precision cut bead and cove work.
• 4 free strips will be added free of charge to assist with tone control and to address occasional breakage.
• The tubes of strips will weigh about 60 pounds each and can be carried buy one strong boater, or by two more slight "happy go lightly recreational boater. The tubes can be transported on the roof racks of most vehicles with a red flag.

The downside to ordering from Raven is that their accent strips (White cedar) are quite expensive, at $0.55/LF.

I also talked with a supplier at the bottom of the plateau, near Costco, called Issaquah Cedar & Lumber (I've added them to my list below). Dean, the guy I talked to, said that they get a lot of buyers for kayak stripping. They tend to come in, pick over the stock, buy a few boards at a time, and collect the stock over a long period. He could sell me clear WRC 1x4 (which is really 11/16" by 3 1/2"), S4S (surfaced four sides), 15 feet and longer, for $1.29/LF. Wider stock (say, 1x6) isn't as easy to find clear. That's $3.87/BF, which is better than Edensaw...

I have to say, having someone pick out the best, old-growth, clear cedar, cut it down and mill it seems like a better idea that starting from the raw boards and doing it yourself. The companies doing this (like Raven - up on the B.C. coast) have much better access to the good lumber that I would.

Stripping

I've starting looking around for cedar strip suppliers. One of the nice things about building a strip-built boat is that because the strip-built kayak market is relatively large, there are plenty of suppliers out there who are willing to sell you strips. This is in comparison to cedar veneer that I would have to find for the K12 - that would be considerably harder to find and get quotes on at a decent price.

I need 360 16 foot ¼" by ¾" bead and cove, Western Red cedar strips. Further consultation with Bram indicates that 1/3 of these as 16' and 2/3 as 14' will be plenty, which is good because at 16' many suppliers will increase their prices.

I've entered into the world of wood. It's interesting. Most of the quotes for finished bead and cove strips are in linear feet (LF). If you are buying from a mill that doesn't mill down to bead and cove you will talk in board feet (BF, a BF is a volume - 12 inches by 12 inches by 1 inch, or 144 cubic inches. See here). One possibility here is to buy a whole bunch of WRC myself and rip it down and carve the beads and coves in, but it seems like a lot of work to start out with this and then move on to the actual construction.

Here's my supplier list:

linear feet: 5280

board feet (assume 30 strips in 1 foot): 192

A great reference for all things related to strip building is Schade's website. Another great site is See Kayak, which has links to strip suppliers, places to buy router bits, glass and resin suppliers, and more.

The Swift Solo

Tamara suggested my dad and I meet with the designer of the Swift Solo ("That sounds like a good father-son bonding idea"). We met with Bram today. He walked us through the boat, explained it's construction. To my dad's concern about it's difficulty, Bram said "if I can build this anyone can" and pulled out the construction manual and started walking him through the different steps and what was required at each. Dad was impressed, and commented that the guide was quite good. I asked as many questions as I could think of, and finally decided. This is it. It just looks like too much fun to pass up. I bought the plans - expensive ($575) but I think worth it. This is going to be fun - I'm looking forward to both building and sailing this puppy.

[ Swift Solo plans and registration fee: $575]

Strip building

I received my copy of The Strip-Built Sea Kayak by Nick Schade today. It's great. I've only skimmed through it, but reading this book makes you want to leap from your chair and dive right in. After reading through the first few chapters, I said "hell, why build a sailboat? I could start with a kayak and then try something else!"

Schade is a descriptive author who very clearly explains the process involved to build the kayak. Very few tools are involved - a plane, a model saw, a rasp, and a jackknife. No power tools, something right up my alley. He goes into all the additional tools which might be useful - jackplanes, scrapers, sanders (random orbital is the way to go), saws (jig and table, and his suggestion is to not bother buying a table saw, borrow one if you want to rip your strips yourself), router (to mill strips), clamps and the stapler. He talks about all the materials required in sufficient detail to understand their properties and where to make choices.

Schade runs through everything - how to loft the plans for his boat, the workshop and setting up, cutting and assembling the hull, stripping the hull, fairing and sanding, glassing, and finishing. There's even a section on being artistic with your strip-laying and how to add character to your kayak.

It's a great book. It's motivating and while it gives you a clear idea of what's in store, makes that appear doable and clearly describes what needs doing. It's the best kind of do-it-yourself book.

[ The Strip-Built Sea Kayak, by Nick Schade: $13.97]