> I have decided, for sure now, to paint from the sheer line down on my
> Guillemot. Since I have not yet glassed the hull, I now have the option of
> using Kevlar or a carbon/kevlar cloth.

> If I do use kevlar or a
> carbon/kevlar cloth can I use a lighter weight cloth and still maintain
> the same structural integrity while saving some weight?

> I also tried to
> use bead and cove strips at the sheer which I have now decided to hand
> plane instead. Can I lay up the outside of the hull with glass, kevlar, or
> carbon/kevlar and then plane the sheer strips, or is that impractical?

>I have not stripped the deck yet and wanted to get the sheer planed before I
> lay my first strips up top. I thought about pulling the hull off as is,
> with no glass, to plane those strips but I just don’t trust the wood. I’ve
> been working on this hull for 8 months in a basement and I fear if I pull
> it off now I may be asking for trouble with twisting or warping. Any
> thoughts or suggestions? As always, thanks for any advise.

Some heresy here. Consider joining the deck at a point above the sheer. Your current strip ( at the sheer line) is beeda and cove. So, take another bead and cove strip, set it in place with a few staples or brads, mark a straight line along this new piece to give a slightly-higher-than-the-sheerline line This would be roughly up the middle of the additional strip I would guess, making the additon a mere 3/8 inch (about 9 mm) wide, but maybe you'll just add as little as 1/4 inch (6 mm) of material above the true sheerline. Then, remove this strip, cut it and plane it while OFF of the boat, and put it back on permanently only when it meets your approval.

Basically you are putting a thin 'cap' over the already installed bead and cove strips. If you screw up on shaping this cap, by the way, you are hardly inconvenienced. Get another strip and try it again.

To work on this thin strip you might find it convenient to use a couple pieces of cheap lumber, such as 1 x 2 furring strips, held on either side of the strip with a pair of C clamps, o chck the assembly in a vise. The edges of the cheap lumber will provide a guide for you to check against as you plane, and if you plane too much, you hit the scrap wood, which pretty much limits your mistakes, without damaging your plane. You can plane a short section of this cap strip, then release the clamps and move your strip up to do the next section.

Of course you could try replacing the plane with a saw, too. If you are carefull you could get a perfect fit of deck and hull by splitting a strip lengthwise with your saw, and using one half to cap the hull srips, and the matching half as the starter strip for the deck.

Hope this helps.

Paul G. Jacobson