Great thread guys. I'm a Math teacher here in Texas. I built 3 wooden boats with my students in a Math class a few years ago. If I may make a few suggestions I think it may make it actually a bit easier.

Scarfing is a process which can give students a bit of trouble. The reason being that if you don't scarf evenly you'll end up with voids in the hull or dimples. A simple butt block joint works well and is VERY easy to make for the students. You can use it as a structural point as well and put braces on each side. Second, have you thought about stich and glue for the construction. I know we only built 12 row boats, but Epoxy and Meranti 6566 wood still only turned out to be $300 per boat using this method and the only real tools needed were a jigsaw and sandpaper.

You can see some pictures by going to my website www.texasspearfishing.com and looking at boat building 101