> Nick - After looking over your designs, I think the Little Auk is exactly
> the boat I'm looking for; I'm considering building one. However, the only
> space I have is in my basement, which is fairly damp and humid. Is it
> possible to successfully build a stripper under these conditions? Because
> of the high humidity, the wood strips would be at a higher equilibrium
> moisture content, compared to building it outside, or in a less humid
> indoor environment...would this affect the glue bond, or epoxy curing? One
> other question: Can the Little Auk design be stretched to 12 feet, for
> addition carrying capacity? (And as an aside, isn't the Dagger
> "Bayou" a rip-off of your Little Auk design?) Thanks for the
> info!

Patrick, I live in Minnesota, and just moved into an old house with a damp basement. I bought a 50 pt rated dehumidifier, and it has improved the basement environment substantially. You will need one this size for a basement. It is now very dry feeling, and doesn't smell like a basement. However, it doesn't cool down your house or basement like Nick says. It does make it "feel" cooler in the basement because it lowers the relative humidity. Mine draws 6 or more amps, much of which goes into changing water from the vapor state to the liquid state. It does put out some heat as well, but you won't notice this in the basement. I bought mine slightly used at the ApplianceMart in the Twin Cities, and paid about half of retail. It is essentially brand new with full mfg's warranty. Beware that your electric bill will go up: it could cost $20 or more per month to run the beast. You shouldn't need to run it between October and early-mid April. By the way, I will be building a woodstrip canoe in my basement this fall.