I came to the same conclusion last night ... my strips, given their current dimensions, material stiffness, moisture content etc. ... just aren't gonna work. I have to reduce the moment of inertia (Sorry to get technical ... I was a stress analysist in a past career!) which is most effectively done by reducing the thickness ... that's my best option. My only concerns are the stress concentration at the thickness transition and the manor of making the bends.

For the stress concentration I'll try for a ramp about 4 to 6 inches long from the thin to thick sections.

Should I still try to make the bends using steam or other wet heat methods or should I try it cold? I'll try cold first and if that doesn't work ... steam.

Thanks!

Ken

: More than 1/4" thick! No wonder you can't bend it.

: Using narrower width strips may work but they may also not look good
: with the rest of your deck pattern. To use the same width but make the strips
: more flexible you can do the following.

: Lay your strip in place where you want it on the deck and mark the area you
: need to bend.

: Take the strip to your table saw and set your fence to 3/16'. What you want
: to do is to
: take excess wood off the BACK of your strip to make it more flexible

: Lower your saw blade. Spring clamp featherboards to the strip to the fence so
: the BACK of
: the strip at the start of the marked area is over the blade. Turn on your saw
: and raise the
: blade into the strip then continue cutting away the excess on the back of the
: strip that needs
: to be more flexible, then stop, and lower the blade out of the wood.

: Use a block plane to taper the step at the beginning and end of the cut so
: the wood won't
: split there.

: This strip should bend quite easily to the shape you need. Be sure to align
: the top surface
: of the new thinner strip with the top (exterior) surface of your thicker
: strips. If you still need
: more help I'd use a heat gun along with the thinner strips in the cockpit
: area.

: Later, on the inside, you can add wood filler to make the transition from
: thinner to thicker
: strips. Then you can add as much extra glass to the underside as you wish to
: make the cockpit
: area as strong as you like.

: All the best,

: Rob Macks
: Laughing Loon CC&K
: www.LaughingLoon.com