I know this has been discussed already and I've got some encouragement from others with the same problem. I'm building the Guillemot Play form plans I purchased and am at about the 7th strip of the hull. I'm using western red cedar with regular elmers wood glue. Doesn't look perfect at this point but I think it will sand and finish nice.

The problem is the strips are about an inch or two from the first and last couple of forms. I'm using an internal stem and have glued the strips to it. I'm also using some staples but they seem to have limited holding power. The main problem seems to be the twisting of the strips at the ends of the boat. To start over I would use 1/2 inch wide strips to help the bending. The two sides are roughly symetrical and maybe it's not really a problem but I'd really like to follow the forms.

It sounds like the solution is to use some moisture and heat plus straps and blocks to force the strips into place. Maybe then some longer staples to help hold things there. At this point staples alone won't do the trick.

So here's the question(s).........is there a problem wetting the strips if I used regular glue (not waterproof)? Does the heating cause a permanent change in the shape to the strips? How importnat is it to follow the forms or is a wider and rounded cross section at the bow not too important?