: What are the advantages/disadvantages (other than weight) in using a sheer
: clamp? when I get to the point of joining the pieces of my Night Herron, I
: had thought of a sheer clamp. The advantages of net having to look like an
: ostrich in a kayak, might outweigh the disadvantages of the clamp.

: If I use a thin 1/8 piece, it looks like I could use thickened epoxy and fit
: the deck on top of that piece. Advantages would be that the deck would not
: invert into the hull, as the clamp would force the deck to meet the hull.

: Any thoughts?

Your right here is my complete take on it.

Using shear clamps is another method of attaching the deck to the hull as opposed to than gluing the two halves edge to edge. It is commonly used on plywood kayaks (see CLC's website) and also on some strippers. The advantages are: the over sized deck is glued to the shear clamps and then trimmed to size avoiding the alignment problems that edge to edge gluing of the hull to deck always present, they eliminate the requirement to tape the inside of the deck to hull seam which is awkward, they provide a thickened member that is handy to screw into for the seat back support, they produce a sharp cornered shear line that is perfect to attach a rub rail (that also helps deflect splash) and the hard shear increases knee space. The disadvantages are: you can bang your knees on them so round their exposed corner, they can disrupt your accent strip pattern, you have to like the looks of a hard shear, they add weight and a hard shear makes the kayak more stable upside down so its harder to roll.