> Hello all,

> I am a new to kayaking, semi-competent with tools, looking for a new
> hobby. I found some pointers to the guillemot web page on
> alt.boat.paddling and got very excited. I bought and read most of Nick
> Schade's book and am now deciding if I should take the plunge into (what
> seems by this BBS to be very addictive) strip kayak building. I'm
> concidering the Guillemot. After reading the chatter in this BBS I have a
> few questions:

> 1) Cost of wood - I read a message that indicated that $30 wood was enough
> for a boat and another message that said $70 of wood = $3000 of strips.
> What would I expect to pay for enought pre-cut strips for Guillemot. I
> dont own a table or band saw, so to cut my own boards I would need to buy
> one (or find somewhere else to do this). How long would this take for a
> novice?

> 2) Do I have any chance of accuratly creating form templates from the
> table of numbers or will I save huge time and agravation by buying plans/
> precut forms.

> 3) If cove and Bead boards are not used, are the straight edges planed to
> close the gaps on the outside of the boat?

> 4) Im just north of Boston, any suggestions for kit/supply stores.

> 5) I have a finished basement that no one uses. It is carpeted and has a
> stairway leading to the rest of house with a door at the top. If I cover
> the floor (tarps, maybe plywood) would I be ok or am I asking for trouble?
> fumes, dust...I have a garage....but its very cold right about now.

> Thanx for the help, Im pretty sure Im gonna jump in, but costs may require
> some wife convincing.

Hi Chris

You and I seem exactly at the same point I'm considering the Grt Auk. I've got my computer to do the offsets for me in a graphing program. I then had to transfer to another program to draw to scale. If you've no computer I should think they would be fairly easy by hand and graph paper. If you want to correspond maybe get in touch?

Peter, Rufford, England