: Hi,
: I'm building a Guillemot (my first kayak building project), have got the
: forms aligned and am about to start stripping the hull, without staples.
: What's a good way to hold the first strip in place?
: I was thinking of using hot melt glue or clamping it to a sacrificial deck
: sheer strip screwed in place. Any one have a better idea?

I'm in the last stages of my first stripper. I also went without staples. Yes it is very slow but it sure does look nice. Since you're going to be putting a lot of pressure on the first strip using a lot of clamps it needs to be very well attached. I tried a couple of different things to aviod making holes. It didn't work well and I ended up using small nails and filling the holes at the end. They are not really noticable. I did have a thought that using plastic j-channel molding stips (available in every home center by the paneling)used to finish edges of plywood paneling might really be worth trying. You could attach the plastic strips firmly with small nails on each form and just place your first strip right in the j-shaped opening. They would be very resistant to damage from the clamping process and you wouldn't have any holes in the sheer strip.

I found that besides using the plywood clamps at the forms that using adjustable bungie cords (Home Depot for about $1.50 each) were really great for keeping everything tight between the stations, especially on the hull strips.