: An inch or two off the forms sounds like quite a lot. I'm guessing that there
: are some concave shapes at the bow and stern that are difficult to bend
: strips into. But before you go too far, I'd want to check the shape and
: spacing of your forms and endforms and also the internal stems and their
: beveling. It might just be a difficult are to strip, but it might also be
: a mispositioned form contributing to your problem. Any chance you could
: post a few pictures?

: Mike Scarborough
: Friendship Kayak

The gaps are perhaps only an inch but feel like 2 or more inches. Not only don't the strips touch the forms but I think they have a slightly different curve to them. I'm hopeful that I can apply some heat and force the strips into the shape of the forms but don't quite know how to go about it. It might take some screws to pull them tight but i'm worried it will all spring back once I take the screws out. I'm afraid to wet the wood because I don't want to reglue everything. It's only 7 strips so I could start over but I really don't want to do that. How big of deal is it if I don't quite match the forms? Here's a photo that kind of shows what I'm talking about.