You'll need a low angle block plane like the Stanley Sweetheart No. 9 1/2.  they retail for about $90.00 give or take. You'll also need a bullnose plane for cutting the gains unless CLC is doing that for you now. They retail for about $50.00 I think. I don't think I've ever bought a new plane because I always read that they just aren't sharp enough from the factory. The good news is you can find good serviceable planes on ebay for a lot less than new. Right now there are a number of Stanley No. 9 1/2's for $20.00 and up.  There are bullnose planes for $10.00 and up. Make sure all parts are there and no chips in the blades.  You will need a good sharpening stone.  The Sweetheart really is a sweetheart and you'll have plenty of use for it. Practice with it on some scrap.  Thin shavings. 

   I think there is no plane or chisle that comes sharp enough from the manufacturer. That means you will need to learn how to sharpen your own planes. There are a number of systems using all sorts of abrasives. There are also may tools to aid with setting or keeping the sharping angle. Some also add a micro bevel.

���Thanks for all the information! I am making my own strips. What exactly is the bullnose plane for? Also no Jack plane?

Typically the bull nose is used for cleaning up machine machine cut joints. It is not designed to remove long shavings of wood. It may also have a removable nose so it can work like chisle plane. It can also double as a sholder plane.

Bullnose Plane

Jack planes are used to square lumber before or in place of power planers. They would be used on the wider faces of wood planks.

Understanding Bench Planes

���got it. thanks for the web pages and you help Marc.

i completed my night heron project with just one plane -- a stanley low angle block planehttp://www.clcboats.com/shop/products/boat-building-supplies-epoxy-fiberglass-plywood/booth-tools/stanley-low-angle-block-plane.html

i found the three most-used tools for the project were:

- the block plane

- a high-quality small band saw

- a combination table mounted belt and disk sander

   The blade of the bullnose plane comes all the way out to the edge of the body rather than through a slot in the bottom.  Search this site for a photo of the gains on the planking of a Skerry (because that's what I'm familiar with) and probably many other boats.  That's what you would use the bull ise plane for. 

most strip build kayaks are not lapstrake-type construction.  the planks are typically flush to one another and not overlapped in style like a wherry or a skerry.

so the use of a bullnose plane may not be particularly useful.

that said, if you happen to have a design that has overallped planks....

   Since I built my inventory of power tools I haven't used my planes much.  I only use one to make a scarf joint. There are some things that power just can't duplicate.

   Tools I find most useful for small-boat building: Low-angle block plane, Japanese pull saw, random orbital disk sander.

   For S&G kit boats, add pliers, wire cutter, barbecue lighter (for heating wires and soften surrounding epoxy to pull wires out) and an electric soldering gun (for careful heating of tiny ends of copper wires left behind when they break off no matter how careful you are with the barbecue lighter and pliers)

   Of course there are others, but these are the ones I just can't do without.

Jim

   I really agree about the pull saw, jim. I bought one from Home Depot and it was/is invaluable. Another valuable tool to me is the cabinet scraper. It is very easy to remove epoxy runs and lumps or for general smoothing of wood. You Tube videos on its use were very helpful. 

   A nice adjunct to the cabinet scrapers is a 1/2" chisel.  Green epoxy blobs or runs can be shaved off easily and very cleanly with a sharp chisel, especially in areas hard to access with a scraper.  However, you can't wait too long or it's much tougher.  Get 'em when they're dry but still a bit soft.

   Hello! Look something like that. https://www.bestadvisor.com/hand-planers Not bad cut and accuracy are good, for the bars will go. The block can also be cut out. The main thing is to make your bands correctly, measure everything, to begin with. This will help you determine the size of your "device".

I also wanted to add that Jack's aircraft are universal and can handle the task even if there are no right angles in the kayak.

Good luck!

   Sorry, not aircraft - I wanna say planes, but my desktop dont agree with me an go correct :)

Nick Schade, designer of the Petrel,  talks about block planes................. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkvdTJWLgs8   

   I know this was a question about strip builds, but for S&G I found this miniature Lee Valley plane very handy for the plywood edges.

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=70138&cat=1,41182

I got one years ago as a gift and always viewed it more as a decorative piece, but it was great for cleaning up and chamfering the edges.

I ’ve also been working on my own paddle, I’d recommend picking up a copy of Canoe Paddles: A Complete Guide to Making Your Own by Graham Warren. I used this book, great resource. I used hand tools, not power tools to make my last paddle. It was made out of ash and cherry. I used hand saws to shape then a hand plane and spokeshave to form the paddle. Rasp and hand sand to finish. Wear a dust mask when working with ash dust.

I used the most common hand planers, one of the popular. I can advise you this review, here in the table describes the characteristics of the average in the price category of tools. I think you'll pick something up.