I've been slowly working on my daughter's Sea Flea 11. I've finally cut my first bit of wood today for the cross sections. (I've gotten so excited that I threw together forms for a Sea Tour 17R for me and cut them out too).

I haven't bought the wood for the stringers yet -- mostly out of ignorance of what precisely to buy (I know the site mentions Western Red Cedar... but, I'm not 100% certain where to find that.). Anyway- my real question is once I do find what I'm after, how long do the boards need to be?

I know it's an 11' kayak- but, given that the wood will be pushed outward around the cross sections, whatever length I buy will be shortened. And, I know that whatever I end up with will be cut down to where the boards come together. But, how much should I account for? Will a 12' board suffice? Or.. a 13'?

(I hope this makes sense-- I'm truly a woodworking NEWBIE. I had to buy tools just to get this far.)