All but one of my boats are made from the 1/8th inch wood..... Best thing to do is to make it the way it is called for , stitch it together and let it form ( it will look different then the thicker plywood ) but when the shape is there the epoxy saturate later will make it hold the shape.
It will come together as you work with it. This is why I always tell someone to build a boat the way the designer says to do it with thicker wood.
After that learning experience then you can tackle the near imposable , the thinner wood.
Cheer up ... it will come together for you , warping and all the rest.
When you attach the sides to the bottom and then the one railing on it .. it will take shape. If it has a deck then you can glass the hull inside and outside , or hold off till later depending on what way you are thinking of making it. Glassed outside and epoxy saturated on the inside without any glass ... If that is your thought then glass the inside of the cockpit area , it will stop a lot of wear and tear on that part of the boat since it gets the abuse of you getting in and out while paddling.
If you are not glassing the inside then epoxy saturate the hell out of it , so when the last coat you put on there looks like glass.
( Something not recommended by the designers but something I have done to a couple of my boats , I recommend glassing as the designers suggest ) .
Later the deck will form it as it should be or if that ( The deck ) is not a part of it the other railing will make it look like a boat.
Thinking about it , even with a deck you need to run an inner rail on there for the deck to sit on and be epoxied to.
Then epoxy saturate the wood and when happy with the results fiberglass it , in side and outside. If there ia a full length deck the do the epoxy saturation and glassing on the inside of the deck before putting it on , after that then glass the deck and run the glass about 1 or two inches down the sides to seal it.
OK.. Looking at what I said .. It is as clear as mud and a lot of folks will not agree with it.......
Best way to say it in a nut shell , you can not over saturate the 1/8 ply , all you will do is end up with a glass finish and some stiff wood.
I do mine as the boat comes together it makes for a lot easier sawing ( since I use hand tools ) and sanding.
Chuck.
