Thanks Doug.
The planks are all identical except the two wide keel planks and the accent strips. The keel planks are at least 2 1/2" wide the whole length, it's easier to make the 90 degree twist with a wide board. The accent strip is an inch wide the length of the canoe, just because it looks better that way.
I'm a little unclear on how they tappered the strips at the factory. The nearest I can tell they had a dedicated table saw or better yet a band saw, on which they ran the strip through while mounted on a template. I'm assuming they ran the template against a short fence. The tapper is so gradual it only needs to be done on one side of the strip. Since I don't need to be as efficient as the production guys used to be, I mount my strip on a long hard board and plywood template. I get good results by using my router with a ball bearing guided straight cutting bit, then a rabbiting bit.
The few strips that run in the chine, or turn of the bilge, are back side dressed in the center of the canoe with a convex plane iron. This helps to avoid splitting. On these same strips that turn the sharp arch, the inside leading edge of the rabbit is also touched with a block plane to make a tight joint on the outside. I hope this answered your question, I'll try to post some more pictures in the next few days.
