Dan
I've looked very hard at W/C canoes, and nearly bought a used mold. They are works of art, and consume a lot of time to build. Pleasing to the eye for sure.
As a strip builder, I've slipped a little into the Dark side, having built two Kevlar's, and a Carbon Fiber/ Kevlar canoe. Using my strippers as molds. This old boy appreciates the light weigh !
I'd consider my best lay up for a stripper, to consist of bead and cove strips. 1/4" WRC for anything above 15'. Stemless construction, with staples.
6 oz E-glass, inside and out, with an extra 6 oz S-glass lay up to about the 3" waterline on the outside. Two bias strips on the leading edge of the stems. Flotation chambers. Ash for all my trim work.
I've found the above combination to serve me very well, unless I'm really hitting the rocks hard, and then I will add Graphite powder to the last fill coats, up to about the 3" waterline. If you look closely at the photos above, you can see the graphited bottoms on a few canoes.
My last two canoes. Nokomis on the left, and Vader, the Carbon/ Kevlar copy on the right. Both at 16' 4".
Jim