I have stayed away from these very wide strips, as one of the cornerstones of the WEST method derivatives is to use very small pieces of wood to keep the tension at the joints small and within the elasticity of the epoxy/fiberglass membrane, and at the same time keeping moisture from spreading far in case a a damaged membrane (that is where mixing old and new boat building methods often fail). But maybe I have been unnecessarily strict about this. Have anyone experienced any problems with 1,5" strips in this respect?