> I've been stripping the hull of my first Guillemot and I've realized that
> I didn't have to use a single cheater strip.

Sometimes things go better than you expect.

> I've been doing a lot of effort trying to keep the strips in place
> (sometimes I had to nail the strips because the staples were not strong
> enough) and now I've got the feeling that when the process of pulling out
> the staples begins, the glue (regular PVA) won't be able to keep
> everything in its right place.

Start pulling the staples and nails. As you do you will find either A) Your glue is a lot stronger than those metal fasteners, and is holding those strips nicely or B) Your strips are pulling apart and you need to replace a nail or a few staples to keep the boat from coming apart.

Have some faith. It is highly unlikely that you will encounter situation `B`.

> Just for prevention, what do you think about fiberglassing 2 inches ribs
> on the inside of the hull prior to pulling out the staples and nails? I
> mean, I would fiberglass 2 inches tape across the hull, every half way
> between stations.

I think it would be a total waste of your time and money.

If the boat is not falling apart as you remove the nails and staples then you do not need to do anything special.

If (and only if) the boat IS falling apart as you remove the nails and staples, then I would replace only as many nails or staples as it would take to keep the pieces in alignment. Then I would apply a light coat of epoxy resin, which would soak into the wood fibers, and also into the seams between the strips, securely gluing them.

Additional glass cloth at this point would make a mess and be unnecessary. Unless you could live with a very rough and bumpy finish, you would have to later sand off all those glass-strip ribs to get the wood underneath smooth before putting on your glass cloth.

After the coating of resin cures, pull the remaining nails and/or staples. Then go on with sanding and apply the glass cloth in the usual fashion.

I have heard of only one case where the boat fell apart before being covered with the fiberglass cloth. This was when the builder pulled the glued hull off of the forms, dropped it. It split. After a period of 'blue' language, the builder put the pieces back on the forms, reglued them, and pulled the pieces back together. I understand the repairs are unnoticeable and the completed boat has held up well.

Hope this helps

Paul G. Jacobson