: . . . height is a bit confusing because I don't have a 0,0,0 reference on
: the hull and the shear on the hull isn't consistant with the shear on the
: strip plans. I have no common vertical reference point to start with.
: How can I find a vertical reference point on the boat and xfer it to the
: strip plans so I can determin the new shear location on each form? I do
: not plan on using a strong back at all. I was going to hot glue the forms
: to the hull for suport and use the hull's shear as my aqlignment mark (and
: to ensure the deck will fit the hull)

About the only certain reference would be the waterline. If you transfered that mark from the front to the back of each of your forms You could place them in the hull and align them with a block of wood and a small level.

Your deck height would then be measured up from the waterline mark. For that matter, you could measure your sheer, too.

Even though you are building the deck without using a strongback, if your forms were strung along an internal strongback then the hole that the strongback went through should still be there and should provide a consistant reference.

But, let's look at this problem from a totally different viewpoint: Why bother with inserting the forms at all? Your hull is built, and the hydrodynamics have been established. All you need to do is put a top on it.

In George Putz's book on canvas covered boats he shows how deck supports are attached to the frame. Get a copy from the library and take a look at the pictures. A similar method could be used for temporarily attaching very small forms -- essentially raised thwarts -- upon which you can place your strips.

What kind of a deck do you want? peaked or rounded? Establish along the length of your boat where you want the cockpit to be. Place a "deckbeam" at the front and back positions for your cockpit, and if you wish, you can construct a rough template of your coaming to tie these two things together. The deckbeam can be a shape (portion of a circle, or an angle) cut from plywood, or built up from scraps of solid wood. You can even steam and bend a piece of wood to the shape you wish.

Somewhere between the cockpit opening and the bow you'll want to insert at least one more "deckbeam" or partial frame. If you want a complicated shape, you maybe will need 2 or 3, but for nice, rather straight lines, only one is really needed. same goes for the back end, where you need at least one support between the cockpit and the stern. YOu may want to hot glue a 3 inch long block to the sheer on each side of the boat where this support goes. Then you can secure the form to this block with a screw or two.

Since the deck will probably not have such complicated curves as the hull you should find it faster to strip. You can start at the center and strip towards the sides, or start at the sides and work towards the center.

If you are thinking of using a sheer strip to help in attaching the deck to the hull, you can put that in now. If you want to do a quick job on the deck, you can lay on your strips so they overlap the sides of the boat, and then trim them to match the hull shape later. the time you save here is in fitting each strip to match the hull curvature. what you give up is the "seamless" transition from hull to deck, as you will see where the deck ends and the hull begins by the direction of the strips. An accent strip can make this seam appear to be a design feature, giving you both an advantage in construction time and simplicity, and also an artistic touch.

hope this helps.

PGJ

The "deckbeam" forms serve to keep the hull's width constant during your deck construction, and can be used to force the hull back to the right shape after glassing the interior. That should help when attaching the deck.