> Hi daniel, I must confess I have dificulty following most analysis,
> physical or metaphysical, but... my experience has been that scarf joints
> are more enjoyable to make yet yield a slightly frustrating result when
> sanding. There is usually a slight wave on either side of the joint. Butt
> joints are a bit gross or rough looking on the inside, but like a good
> brick wall can lend a sense of a solid contact, the butt joint is easy to
> sand flush on the outside. Me thinks that this thread could open up the
> arcane area of deck/seam joint. Could 2 layers of bias cut 4oz cloth work
> more effectively than 1 layer of 9 oz tape. Is heavy weight bias tape
> appropriate to joining hard to reach joints?

> One way to consider the desirability of either joint would be to get a few
> boats of different construction and start hammering away with a roofing
> hammer. Empirical evidence is a good way to take theorizing to its
> conclusion.

Like George always says " build some test panels " far easier and cheaper than destroying a boat