I have seen that done on a Chesy 17, and it looked fine. I still would have misgivings about a lumpy curve at the end of the short sheer clamp however, and since it's not that difficult I would stick with Chris' method if it were my boat. Keep in mind that these sticks give the boat not only its shape but a great deal of its strength; they are much more than just a handy attachment point for the deck. The cut isn't really that tricky. Once you get started, it takes only a few minutes. In the time it took me to write these two messages I could have fit the ends on two boats.

> Instead of trying to cut the sheer clamps to fit perfectly together at the
> stern and bow, wouldn't it be possible to leave the sheerclamps several
> inches shorter than the panels, forget the tricky cut, and then do an
> epoxy end pour?

> Paul