: I like that idea. I had thought about a cardboard template to make sure that
: I was extending the wood past the opening. I am assuming that your opening
: is a compound curve so that the strips will not necessarily end right at
: the template?

The opening has about a 1/2" of curvature to it from front to back. Using a piece of 3/4" particleboard and setting it so that is stands proud of the forms by about 1/4" allows all the forms to butt right into the template. I think of it as another form when I'm building the deck. The strips HAVE to land on that plane. Otherwise you end up with the picture below... taken during the building of the first Black Pearl. What a mess! For the second one I made my life easier using the form. Read an excerpt from my blog.

Dan