: . . .I'm planning to make strips by taking some existing 1/4" x 3/4"
: strips, and run them through the tablesaw to get a 1/8" x 1/4"
: in strips. It's going to be like trying to make matchsticks, but hopefully
: I'll be able to get some usable strips that way.

Look for the wood coffee stir sticks. A box of 1000 should run somewhere under $3. They are 6 to 9 inches long, which would be the 1/4 scale equivalent of 2 to 3 foot long strips -- so you'll probably need to scarf 5 or 6 together to get the length you want. BUT they are about 3/16 to 1/4 nch wide, which is about a quarter the size of 3/4 inch to 1 inch real strips, and they are a little under 1/16th thick, which should be just fine.

The color is great, and no knots to speak of, and they are already sanded nice and smooth.

You can make a very simple scarfing jig sor such thin pieces with a sanding disk. Just set up a guide, or a fence at a small angle to the sanding disk and feed in the coffee stirrer. Then feed in another. In less time than the average electric pencil sharpener takes, you'll have matching tapers on the ends of your two short strips. A drop of white glue and clamp with a paperclip or two.

You can do dozens of these tiny scarfs in an hour, and have suitable lengths for whatever full-length strips you need. You can fill in the rest of the boat with strips that are butt joined, or scarfed, or both.

PGJ