This is the story of how I built my cedar strip kayak in 2021. This was my longest and hardest boatbuilding project.

Like any big project, this started with a lot of planning, CAD, and analysis. By this point, I had a good process for using SolidWorks to design small boats and even generate stability curves. I used my previous kayak design as a starting point and wanted to make that more comfortable.

The stability curve shows how far a boat can lean over before it capsizes. According to the graph below, up to around 40 degrees of heel angle should be okay for this design. There are other factors in a small boat, such as the paddler's weight and movements, since the paddler makes up most of the gross weight of the boat.

I then drove 2 hours away to Keim Lumber in Ohio to purchase 14' long clear cedar boards and I drove them home to Cleveland.

Then, I got to work cutting and sorting strips. I used MDF to build the form, as I would be building only one boat and MDF is cheap. If I was going to build multiple kayaks, I would've used plywood for this.

I started attaching strips to the form and to each other with wood glue. I'm using beveled strips here instead of bead and cove - each strip is planed along one narrow edge so the next strip can be tangent to the form and still make full contact with the next strip.

In about 3 short weeks, I had the bottom all finished and fitted together! Then, I could flip the form and start the top.

Attaching the strips to the top is a bit different, as there needs to be a hole in the middle for the cockpit. I also decided to add an accent strip in the middle with a very simple inlay, so after the deck was closed off I routed a channel and fitted my inlay piece.

I planed and sanded the outside of the hull to make it smooth and remove all the corners of the strips. Then, I decided to stain the cedar to make the color pop a bit.

It so happened that the color of the stain matched the kitchen cabinets in the house.

I fiberglassed the outsides of both halves. The deck got fiberglassed on the inside, while the bottom got a layer of carbon fiber for strength and aesthetic. This was my first time working with carbon fiber and I really enjoyed it.

After the deck was fully fiberglassed, I attached the cockpit riser and lip. This took all the small clamps I had on hand, and then some.

The deck and hull are put together using fiberglass tape. Taping the inside seam is a tedious and very difficult task, and evidently I was too rushed to take any pictures of the process.

After a few days of sanding, varnishing, and polishing, the boat is ready to go! I also made a formed seat on the CNC router, which turned out to be an interesting CAD/CAM project on its own.