Dave,

Round the edge to the point that the juncture of the plywood and the edge of the deck strips is in about in the center of the rounded curve. Put the edge of your hull paint along that line. I would skip the rub rail. The yak will look better without it. You will also save weight. You would be surprised what two hardwood strips thje length of the boat actually weigh.

The problem of putting regular (3/4") shear clamps in 1/4" below the shear edge is that you have no way to shape the angle to match the deck. There is no need for that much wood along the shear. What I am suggesting is only a 1/4" thick strip, just enough to form a ledge to hold the deck up while you glue it on. This is narrow enough that you do not need to worry about the top angle. You could put it in before you strip the deck, no problem. When you are ready to install the deck, just butter the ledge up good with thickened epoxy, drop on the deck and tape it down. Then reach inside with a brush and smooth down the squeeze-out.

Grant

: Hi Grant,

: Lots of good ideas from you and everyone else that has responded. Thank you
: all.

: How would you hide the hull/deck joint? It seems that the edge of the hull
: plywood would show if the entire deck were finished bright. Or am I not
: understanding your suggestion.

: Do you think there would be any advantage to installing the shear clamp prior
: to assembling the hull as is usually done with a S&G? Leaving the plywood
: 1/4 inch proud, of course, instead of the other way around as usual.

: I could paint over the shear for an inch as CLC does on many of their boats
: (I've done that and I like the look.) However, I was thinking of using a
: rub rail on this boat with a hard, rather than rounded, shear.
: Dave