: I have a motivation question. Countless times throughout this lengthy
: process, I run into snags and have to back up several steps/hours.
: Sometimes I end up wasting good wood in order to learn a skill or
: technique that I didn't have before. I used to say,"It's not the
: destination, it's the journey." But that is wearing thin. I want to
: paddle this boat! Does anyone have any tips or tricks they use to back up
: to the spot where things were acceptable quality and start anew.

Dan,

I have no tips or tricks to work around problems, but do have some
thoughts on the woodstrip building process, or perhaps, on the kayak
building process in general, regardless of type.

One technique that I found helpful in woodstrip construction was to work in
fewer long sessions rather than numerous short ones. Startup and shutdown is
very time consuming, both physically and mentally, and over the long hull
(pun intended), discouraging. In addition, once you start, don't take extended
breaks away from the project. One day off leads to two, which in turn leads to
forever. Consistency is the key to success.

The woodstripping portion is the easiest, at least for me, since I did little
complex inlay work, folowed by fiberglassing. The hardest portion of the
process was always the finishing work, such as coamings, deck rigging, seats,
footbraces, sanding and varnishing. Time really seems to drag when the boat
looks so near completion, but there are still so many little time consuming
details left to complete.

The old saying, "10 % percent of the work takes 90% of the time isn't too far
off.

You simply must be aware of the complexity of this process, and be willing to
make the long term commitment to "hang in there" as there really are no
shortcuts. In effect, you must suspend your desire to paddle, and replace it
with a "genuine" desire to build. Otherwise, you will spend the next several
years glancing out of the corner of your eye at what might have been.

Building a kayak is more about you than it is about the boat.

Tom