I built the two Arctic Terns in Mike's photo by routing out the pattern on the raw planks to the depth of the purple heart veneer and then gluing the veneer pieces in place with epoxy before assembling the boat. This allows the planks to maintain a flush surface that will follow the lines of the original design. The planks are essentially turned into plywood of the same thickness having a purpleheart face layer.

Jimmy, in your case, one way to approach avoiding both a scarf joint and missmatched wood on a small bow section would be to use a butt joint and use inlaid veneer that overlaps that joint. I would reinforce the bottom (unseen) side of the planks with fiberglass tape in the manner that Pygmy uses for their butt joints.

Ted Henry

: Jimmy,

: I paddle with the builder (Ted Henry) of those boats once a month. He
: actually replaced the plywood with purpleheart in those areas. I think the
: purpleheart is full thickness, not like a veneer.

: Mike