You are certainly right about the glued forms. I havent used an internal strongback before, so I didnt catch that. With the external type, the forms are bolted to risers and the hull / forms are turned rightside up to strip the deck. Then after the deck is removed, the forms pop out of the hull.

And 3" of warp sounds like a lot to me. Definately get that straightend out, or you'll end up paddling in circles!

: OK, let's take a look at this project at this point.

: Eventually you are going to have to take apart the strongback and frames in
: order to get them out of the inside of your boat. Screwing the forms to
: the strong back was good. Gluing them to it was not good. Generally, you
: can unscrew things easier than you can unglue them. While you have the
: project in front of you, get the forms unglued.

: I assume when you say "frame" you mean the 2x4
: "Strongback" with the attached forms.

: This just won't work very well. A gentle tap can move a tent stake a bit. The
: springiness of that long 2x4 strongback is akin to a wooden archery set.
: The forces of nature ( moisture) that made your strongback take on the
: bend of an Indian's bow will also move those 2x4 stakes of yours. Maybe
: not a lot, but they will move some.

: Lets go back to your splint idea. Why not take a 1x6 or a 2x6, and stretch a
: piece of string down the length of it, along the wide side. Have a couple
: of friends hold it taut while you mist over it with the spray from a can
: of spray paint. When you remove the string, the shadow left by the paint
: gives you a perfect straightedge. Now use your deck screws to hold this to
: the bottom of your warped 2x4. Start by setting the middle of your
: strongback on the shadowy "line" and holding it in place with a
: screw. then gently bend the strongback to conform to the straight line --
: the very length of it provides plenty of leverage -- and use screws to
: secure it to the straight line mark. Besides acting as a splint, this does
: a good job of straightening things.

: What you'll end up with will look a bit like two-thirds of an "I"
: beam. Tou can call it a "T" beam, or an inverted "T"
: beam.

: You will have to cut bigger holes in some of the forms to get them over this
: wider arrangement, but the effort is not too much. Now put your forms back
: on, and just hold them in place with screws, and some shims.

: Yes, unfortunately you have to realign things. However, doing the work now
: saves you much more time later on in the process. What would you do if
: your hull was warped a bit to the left, and the deck was a bit to the
: right?
: Could you bend them to meet?

: Hope this helps.

: PGJ

: Once