Hello, yes the boat will be stronger if you stagger your joints and it is easier to secure the butt joints on the edge of a form, especially if you are using square edged strips. Having said that let me add that the real strength of a strip built boat is from the seperation of the two layers of fiberglass that the wood provides, so if you have a design in mind that calls for several joints to line up go for it your boat will still be plenty strong. Nick's book deals with this topic in the creative design section. Kenny> When using butt joints should they all be staggered and should they
> allbutt together on a form. THANK YOU. JD