: Scarfs will look cleaner, but butt joints are fine structurally if you make
: sure they land on a form (to help in alignment) and you stagger them so
: you don't have multiple, consecutive joints on one form. I used butt
: joints on my canoe and they do not detract from its overall appearance.

: Use one or two scarfed strips to start each side to get fair lines.

I used half-lap joints on my full length starter strips and butt joints on the rest. I use a square to guide my pull saw to make perfect butt joints. And if you have to true up the joints, Mike Hanks's idea of glueing sandpaper to both sides of a putty knife and then holding the joints together while sanding between them does a good job.

John