Leroy:

I've experienced almost the same frustration when I tried to staple my first strip on my Guillemot, a month ago.

The strip didn't want to stay in place. The forms, made of MDF, began to loose their capacity of being stapled, because of the times I stapled and stapled again.

I stared at the whole bunch of cedar strips and seriously thought about setting them on fire.

But then I took my hammer, a bunch of big nails, and began to nail this "recalcitrant" strip in place. Actually, I cut the strip in two (2 pieces of 9 feet long) and after a lot of wrestle fight the strip was in place.

And, you know what? Stapling all the other strips was really easy. Actually, I've quickly developed my skills for adjusting gaps and "croissant" like strip forms to the boat.

Now, it looks wonderful!

Don't hesitate: Get back to your workshop, take your hammer and beat that first annoying strip!!

Hope this helps

Marcelo