How to Make a Cedar Strip Kayak

A cedar strip kayak has a fiberglass composite exterior and a cedar core. The combination of wood and fiberglass produces a light and stiff kayak that compares favorably with commercial fiberglass and Kevlar kayaks while maintaining the beauty of a wood kayak. Cedar strip kits include all the materials required to finish a kayak; building your cedar strip kayak from a kit may take you between 80 and 150 hours.

Things You'll Need

  • Cedar strip kayak kit
  • Stapler
  • Glue
  • Handsaw
  • Sandpaper
  • Fiberglass
  • Epoxy
  • Foam roller
  • Squeegee
  • Fiberglass tape
  • Marine varnish
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Assemble the kit's strongback, which provides a straight building structure on which to assemble the kayak.

    • 2

      Attach the cedar kayak's stations, which represent the cross-sectional shape of the kayak, to the strongback at 1-foot intervals. Align all of the stations with the strongback's centerline.

    • 3

      Staple cedar strips to the stations. The first strip follows the sheerline (the line where where the deck joins the hull), and each additional strip glues to the strip below it. On the bottom, cut the strips to fit into place with a handsaw.

    • 4

      Fair the hull with 80-grit sandpaper. The hull is fair when you've made the surface smooth and the curves flow smoothly along the hull.

    • 5

      Fiberglass the boat. Lay the fiberglass that came with the kit over the hull. Then mix up a batch of epoxy, following the directions on the package. Pour the epoxy over the fiberglass and roll it out using a foam roller until the epoxy completely fills the glass and makes it clear. When the epoxy starts to set up, usually after 30 minutes, squeegee the excess epoxy from the fiberglass cloth.

    • 6

      Strip, fair and fiberglass the deck of the cedar kayak. Follow the same procedures you did for the hull.

    • 7

      Sand the inside of both the hull and the deck using a water bottle wrapped with 80-grit sandpaper, which makes sanding the concave surface easy.

    • 8

      Fiberglass the inside of the kayak.

    • 9

      Join the deck to the hull with fiberglass tape. For the inside, roll the tape onto the seam starting from the cockpit and working to the ends of the boat.

    • 10

      Install the kit's hatches and hatch covers into the deck of the kayak. Go slowly to avoid making mistakes in your hatch cutouts.

    • 11

      Paint the kayak with marine spar varnish. Prepare the surface for varnish by sanding with 80-grit and working your way up to 220-grit paper. Varnish with three coats to protect against UV damage; varnish with six coats to make the kayak shine.

    • 12

      Outfit the kayak. Typical outfitting includes a seat, foot braces, deck line, toggles, a cockpit coaming and bulkheads.