Strip-build, cedar-strip, cedar strip/epoxy, or wood strip all refer to the same technique for building a boat. This method lends itself readily to canoes, kayaks, and small rowing boats. Thin strips of wood are edge-glued together around temporary forms, faired, and covered inside and out with epoxy and fiberglass cloth.

These are really wood cored fiberglass boats; the epoxy and fiberglass are the strength and protection, and the wood core is the shape and beauty. Cedar strip/epoxy boats require much less maintenance than traditional wood boats; a new coat of varnish for UV protection every couple of years will keep your canoe or kayak looking like new.

The Stitch and Glue boat construction method uses panels of marine plywood temporarily held together (stitched) with copper wire, glued with epoxy and fiberglassed to achieve various hull shapes. This type of construction has been used to build the simplest dinghies to large cabin cruisers. The shape of the panels of plywood determines the eventual shape of the boat. Marine CAD programs have allowed designers to produce efficient, beautiful kayaks using 4 MM okoume marine plywood to achieve amazing hull shapes. We are currently using this construction technique to provide kayak kits.

We really like strip building, the appearance of strips, and the level of creativity that you can achieve when using strips. On the other hand, we can see how plywood has its place. When plywood is used, a boat can be assembled quicker with fewer parts and therefore is less costly to produce and less time-consuming to create. So, we are now producing stitch and glue plywood kayak kits, but we have gone further: We now produce Hybrid Kayak Kits. These combine the utility of a plywood hull with the beauty of a cedar strip deck. We think this construction method combines the best attributes of both stitch and glue and strip building construction. Fewer parts and pieces mean less cost to the customer and faster building time while retaining the beauty and creativity of a cedar strip deck.

A "kit" is simply a collection of parts and pieces pre-milled to help you get through the boatbuilding process faster. You can certainly purchase a set of plans and a book and build a boat simply by reading and doing. You may save some money by finding all of the materials, milling your own strips, and making your own mold forms. If you purchase a kit from us, you will save time and frustration and gain quality. We build many of the designs we sell as kits, so we know what you will need to end up with a high-quality canoe or kayak. We are constantly updating our kits as we work out better methods or research new materials. If you are new to strip building and/or boatbuilding, we urge you to read a couple of books and view our Fiberglassing Video. The Pre-Kit Package has been created so that you can review the plans, book, and video before you commit to the process. Reviewing these materials may help you decide how to proceed.

We will customize your kit to fit your needs and abilities. Sometimes customers want to make some items themselves and purchase others.

We have several rowboat designs. We based our Rangeley Boat on the John Gardner version in Building Classic Small Craft. Our Adirondack Guideboat design is derived from the Cole's Guideboat, 16'2" long with a 38" beam. The Lawton Tender also came from a John Gardner book. We have a traditional Whitehall design. Ken Bassett designed a sliding-seat rowboat called the "Liz" that we converted from lapstrake to cedar strip.

We are a distributor for MAS Epoxies and SystemThree SilverTip Epoxy. We use these two systems because they are non-blushing epoxy, low viscosity, and slow curing. A very important property of both of these epoxy systems is that they are very clear and won't fog.