I built a Tern 2 winters ago, and if memory serves, you are getting it right. Only the inner shear in the area of the cockpit gets tape -- more and/or wider tape would be stronger, but I built mine according to the plans with no problems. The soaked-roll method you probably read in Nick's book, but I like the method Jay Babina uses: before mating the deck and hull, tack the tape in place on the inside of the hull with some little dots of hot-melt glue -- mate the deck to the hull, and brush on epoxy with a brush on the end of a stick.

I squeezed out about a 1/4" bead of thickened epoxy in the shear, poked the tape down into it so that the center of the tape was wet out, then brushed on the unthickened epoxy. This short section of fillet should be enough -- just make sure you put in a generous fillet of thickened epoxy down the rest of the inner shear. Mine are maybe 1/2" wide (and are still holding up) but I've seen other's boats with 1"-wide fillets. My Tern weighs 37# without bulkheads and hatches (I went with the sea sock method that I don't recommend) so a bit of extra tape or fillet material will not add much and you will still have a light boat.

Dean

: I'm about ready to put the deck on my Tern and want to make sure I'm reading
: the instructions correctly. After running a good bead of thickened epoxy
: down the entire length of the shear seams (waiting until the first side
: has hardened before doing the second) the deck is glassed. How thick/big
: is this bead to be?..just enough to glue the inside of the seam or a
: significant fillet?

: Then thickened epoxy is spread along the shear seam from a point in front of
: the forward cockpit reinforcement plate to a point behind the rear plate
: then tape is bedded in the wet epoxy. Only this portion on the shear is
: taped inside, not the entire length. Is this correct? Would substituting
: 3" tape for the 1" tape provided add significant strength? How
: much trouble is it to tape the entire seam? I seem to remember reading
: about a procedure that involves soaking a roll of tape in epoxy and
: unrolling from the ends toward the middle so that the entire seam is
: taped. Sounds like a hassle but is it worthwhile to do? I plan on an extra
: layer of cloth to reinforce the deck and hull of the cockpit area.