No and yes. No, because there aren't enough stations in the plans to hold the strips. You need one about every foot. Yes, because you could actually make patterns for the side and bottom panels out of cheap luan and use them to shape strip panels you glued up. No guarantee it would work as there are some pretty tight bends in the Ducks and glued up strips might not bend like Okoume.

George K

I just did a 11 foot little auk which had a funky curve to it . I used a clothes steamer to help out  .  Is it worse than that ?

After building one WD 12 and 3 ducklings, I had the same thought. So I bought the plans and have started cutting the station molds as provided. But I'm rounding the chines to make the bilge bends more amenable to strip building. I haven't decided yet whether to extrapolate intermediate molds between the molds provided, or take lines off the WD 12 that I already have. I'm leaning toward the latter. Don't look for results soon, though; this is a looooooong-range project. :-)  

   A better question might be , is there a shorter wider cedar strip kayak similar to the wood duck already in existence .  Being a small stream and river guy the ocean kayaks aren't practicalpractical

Take a look at the Wee Lassie hull. I've built two of them, and I've often wondered if would make a sweet decked-over kayak. Design length is 12.5 feet. As long as water is calm enough to stay outboard of the gunwales, it is (in my opinion) a sweeter ride than the WD12.

http://www.feathercanoes.com/html/wee%20lassie.html

I think you could do it. BUT.

I'm doing this right now with a Wood Duckling. I cut the forms out of 3/4" material and cut the hull panels out of sheets of preglued strips. I then wired the panels to the forms- the "strip stitch and glue" method that George K alluded to. I'm doing this with cherry (long story) and it has been a bear, but possible. I can only imagine cedar would be much simpler. Stripping the deck (as if a "hybrid") has been much simpler. The stiffness of the cherry seems to help counteract the lack of forms, and on the Duckling they seem to be proportionally closer, anyway- not sure how well this would work in a different design.

Worth pointing out that I plan to use graphite on the hull. If I wasn't committed to using the cherry it would have been far simpler to use Okoume ply for the hull and strip just the deck.

What is your rationale for going this route?

Good luck,

Patrick

Patrick ,  I'm familiar with the strip built process and I've got lots of time

Slacker,

I ask because you mentioned experience with the Auks- I think of them as something like the stripped version of the Duck line. I'm sure there are greater differences- this is just my crude assessment- but the point being you might be happier sticking with a design that was meant to be stripped. I'm resorting to the strip-stitch-and-glue with a Duckling because it has no direct size equivalent in a stripped model.

Bending the hull panels took weeks of slow, maddening work. I wouldn't wish the experience on an enemy but I do understand (and support!) that special brand of masochist (like me!) who "enjoys" this type of challenge now and again. If I did it again, I might have used ply for the bottom-most panels of the hull. These were by far the most difficult to bend, and I intend to cover them in graphite anyway.

Even at my most optomistic I think bending stripped panels for the deck would be impossible. The strips need to be beveled in place. But then, most of the Duck models (except the duckling) come with a "hybrid" option which includes enough stations to support a truly stripped deck, so it shouldn't be necessary. Using a strip-stitch-and-glue technique for the hull would at also allow you to avoid a mountain of extra work trying to reverse engineer a strongback, stems, etc.

Good luck with whatever you do, and here's hoping you keep (and post) a better photographic record than I!

Best,

Patrick

Point taken, don't try to reinvent the wheel !   

Strip built wood Duck 12 - Hull is almost done 

Strip built wood Duck 12 - Hull is done 

 Strip built wood Duck 12 - Stripping the Deck

 Wood Duck 12 - Deck Stripping is done. Inside of deck is Glassed. I tried a few stains on the aft end inside but in the end, I liked the look of the natural cedar. This is the darkest cedar I could find locally!

Gotta love it when 4 1/2 years after a pessimistic thread somebody comes back with pictures showing that they did it.

Good job!

Laszlo 

Thanks Laszlo!

Finished and Glassed hull

The deck is not attached yet! That comes when the weather warms up. I did finish the cockpit coaming which is just clamped in place for now. Still lots to do but into the home stretch.

Getting ready to glue the deck on!

Inside seams have fillets and tape applied. The light is to warm things up a bit! 

Well, It is finished except for a few coats of Varnish! I need to mention all the help and Ideas I borrowed from Nick Schade's Book "The Strip-Built Sea Kayak" and Laszio's Wood Duck 12 Build website.

Now I can't wait to get it out on the water!

Rhonda 

Very nice! Where did you get the patterns for the forms?   

George K

Thanks George!

I created them with Cadd and Hull design Software.