Hi Bernie,

> Using no staples, how did you hold the
> shear and other bow and stern strips with lots of sweep in place? Hot glue
> just isn't working for me.

The shear, as well as the keel strips and the centerline of the deck, I stapled. All others I used wood glue and a modification of Nick's "U" shaped plywood fixtures.

Unstead of a "U" I used an "L" shape. By cutting the bottom leg off this prevented the fixture from pressing out on the other strips from below.

>I've tried the fixtures in Nick's book with
> clamsps but that's cumbersome and doesn't work very well, especially when
> the two strips below want to give way because you are pressing down on
> them. I'd appreciate any suggestions

I never used the hot glue except when I did the coaming. The clamps are cumbersome and I did have trouble getting them to hold tight against the form.

It does get faster, but be careful you don't let yourself get sloppy. I worked about 6 hours each evening and on weekends. I got about 2 strips (on each side) done each night. A few more when I got to the flatter areas of the hull and deck. Including a whole week I had off from work, it took me about 6 weeks from kit to water (although it took me another 6 weeks to find time to varnish it 8^).

Woody