Eric;

I can't speak from experience, because I haven't yet started building, but the first book I read on the subject was Ted Moores' "Kayakcraft", which has an excellent description of how to fit strips to an internal stem, then finish with a laminated outer stem.

Dean's pics in the previous posts show the nice job he did on his stem. The only difference in Moores' method is that he shapes the laminated outer stem piece (also of ash, like Dean's) on a separate mold, before attaching it. In fact, he shapes both the internal and outer stem pieces simultaneously, to get an exact match, and incorporates the inner stem piece onto the boat form, before applying any strips.

: As I am stripping the hull, I have noticed the areas where the strip meet at
: the stems is less than perfect. What do some of you do to make them look
: better. I have read Nick's book and tried to get the cut close, but... you
: know.

: Have any of you used stem and stern pieces? How easy is it? what wood did you
: use? I figure if I plane the ends flat so there is a uniform 3/8"
: surface I can install a nice piece of wood to accentuate the stems. Any
: thoughts? Or is a good dose of dookie-shmutz to fill in the imperfections
: o.k.?