Several factors come into play here. I've used a decorative strip of pine on a cedar canoe with bead and cove edges, and it looks perfect; no wavyness to it at all. It is also located two strips down from the shear (i.e. very little curvature to be sanded out). Where the accent strip is located has alot to do with how it will look after shaping. As for the gaps, the conspicuousness (is that a real word?) can be greatly affected by what type of adhesive you use. The clearer the glue, the more it will show. If you use an opaque glue, gaps will show much less. Bead & cove strips are not sacred though. It is not that much more difficult to use beveled strips, so don't go to any extremes trying to preserve them. If it looks like the accent strips will look or work better without the B&C edges, by all means, shave 'em down. Remember, this is a very forgiving method of construction, and being a purist is just being silly.

Jeff

: Two years ago I made a cypress strip built canoe, but did not add any
: decorative strips of contrasting wood. Shortly, I will be starting a
: kayak. I plan to add some sort of design using contrasting woods. I have
: been giving the design some thought and have come up with a question that
: I haven't seen discussed in any of the strip building books I have read.
: Is it best to use strips without a bead and cove where contrasting strips
: meet? My thought is that strips with a bead and cove will not maintain a
: crisp edge (joint between strips look wavy) after sanding. Any thoughts?