: i'm looking for suggestions on how to strip the deck without stapling through
: the strips. I've already built a kayak without stapling by simply stacking
: blocks of wood on top of eachother and using them as a surface to drive a
: wedge between the strips and the blocks, but this was very time consuming.
: I've heard of using dowels too. Any one actually built this way? Tips?

Lot's and lot's of clamps. I put a scraficial 1/2 x 1/2 strip of pine below my shear stip. I tried to use this strip of pine to clamp to so my shear strip would not get as beat up. For the 1st 6" or so of the hull, I would use clamps to sqeeze the strips and then use packing tape to hold the strips in place. I also used hot glue to help hold the strips to the hull.

As I progressed from the sheerline towards the more rounded part of the hull, I used the plastice "L" shaped things that are used to mount mirrors on the wall. I would put a strip in place, drill a hole in the form above the strip, and screw in the mirror holder. It works great.