The bow and sterm forms are 3/4" pine. I beveled the forms almost to a sharp edge (~1/8" flat left on the keel area) with a plane then cut it off with a bandsaw. The form then was duct-taped to prevent glue from sticking to it, and the beveled piece was re-attached temporarily with a screw on each end. This was all per Jay Babina's instructions for the Outer Island, and it worked out well. I think the internal wood stem is probably lighter than a fillet of thickened epoxy, and helps keep the ends locked in place during the whole building process. Removal of the halves of the kayak from the forms should be easier than without the internal stem, too.

To answer your question directly, you can cut a separate pice for the internal stem, or you can use the form material. I think the latter is easier. Making the form out of softwood like pine or cedar will keep the boat a bit lighter.

Happy building!

Dean

: Hi Dean, I first looked at this page trying to find out which varnish would
: be best to refinish a paddle, I am now in the middle of building a kayak,
: I noticed in the pic that you used an internal stem, did you cut the stem
: from your form material or is it added on? I am at the point of aligning
: the forms on the strongback and if I am to use an internal stem, now is
: the time to do something about it, question is: can I just cut the bevel
: off my form and duct tape the seam and then leave it in the bow? OR, do I
: reshape another beveled piece and place it on the form? thanks for your
: help, rmd