: Build a 17 foot strip deck using only four forms?!? Did I read that right?

Yup. In fact, you could get away with just 2 if you didn't want to match the upsweep at the ends. And your deck is not going to be a continuous 17 feet long. It will be about 8 feet long in front, and about 8 feet long in back. The middle will be empty space, also known as "the hole you stick your feet into so you can sit in the boat" It should not be difficult to find full length strips which are 8 feet long, so I assume you'll not need to have intermediate forms to serve as backers behind joints in short pieces of strips. You need a form ONLY at points where the strips will make a bend. Intermediate forms do two things. Either they are the point where the curve is at its fullest, or they merely support the strip along in the fair direction it would naturally follow when bent.

Of course this assumption may disappear if you are planning to construct some kind of intricate inlai design. In that case, just add backing forms where you NEED them. If this doesn't happen to be on a rigid 12 inch grid, fine. Span the distance between any forms or deckbeams with cardboard to keep the little pieces of wood from falling to the bottom of the boat while the glue sets up. Then remove the cardboard, sand and finish.

: I didn't feel comfortable stripping with the forms 20 inches apart. That's
: why I decided to use the Guillemot offsets. They are 12 inches apart.

Well, if comfort level is the issue here, then personal preference will always be he most important concern. But try this out first. It just takes a minute or two.

Get a short length of wood which can span the width of your kayak, and set it about where you think the front of your cockpit should be. To the side of thisboard you should nail or staple a short length of cedar strip, maybe 8 inches long, centering it above the keel line. We want the top of this strip to be roughly where you think the peak at the front of your cockpit will be. Now, you simply lay a full length ( 8-10 foot) strip from the bow of he boat to the top of that 8 inch strip. It will sag, but it should be on the centerline of the boat. Now place you hand under that strip, somewhere near the middle, and gently lift the strip up, or pull it down, until it assumes the curve you want in your deck. Want the dip further forward, or further aft? Move to that point and deflect the strip accordingly. What you are doing is iscovering where your second support must go. Again, a board plaed across the boat at that point, with a short scrap attached vertically to it will hold the strip in place.

Now repeat the process with some more short strips attached to those two crosswise boards. but put these 2 to 3 inches to either side of the centerline.
When you have three strips set on top you can start to visualize the curvature your deck will have. Add more supports and lay on more strips if you wish.

When you later remove the strips you'll find that the crosswise boards, and the scraps attached to them, are perfect for laying out the deckbeams. Just set these wooden templates on a piece of paper, and use a pencil to trace the baseline, and to make a dot at the center, top, of each of those scrap strips. Connect the dots with a curved line and thats the shape you'll want those 2 deckbeams to be. If you want more deckbeams, you can repeat the process. Just slide a board across the sheers and measure up with scrap strips until they touch the fair curves of the long strips you have (temporarily) placed there.

If you want a rounded curve on the top of the deck, or a flat area for a hatch, or a sharp central peak, jsut make the appropriate shape for the deckbeam that sits in front of your cockpit coaming, and another deckbeam for the shape that you want to construct, which you place where you want that shape to occur. The natural tendency of the strips to curve into place can be utilized, with minimal intermediate support, to give a smoothly flowing look to the deck.

: The shear on the hull sweeps up considerably at the bow and stern and even
: the deck on this boat has compound curves (and I was planning on a nice
: design).

The ends of the strips will of course come up to the ends of the hull , so you'll get the deck shape you want almost automatically. You can add or subtract height to suit your foot size and/or your desire for a tightly fitted, low volume cockpit.

: The idea of a canvas deck does sound interesting tho. Perhaps on the next one
: tho.

A single wood slat running from the high center of the cockpit coaming to the bow provides the ridge pole over which a piece of canvas can be drawn to provide a tent-like deck covering. Tack down or staple the edges to your sheer strip, and cover the fabric edge and staples with a rub strip. Quick, easy, and it can be cooler in the summer.

: My heart is set on sweeping curves of cedar covered in varnish

And they will be very pretty.

: Thakns for the input!
: -David

You are welcome, good luck with your project.

PGJ