I soaked these strips for one day and then steamed them for 30 minutes. They bent right around the form without a problem. I have a few small gaps but I expect to smush those down (or fill them in) in the glue up.

The wheels will go on each side right about where the plywood ends. There will be seven strips total in this lamination. So what we're looking at in this picture are: three strips for the outer "U", three strips for the inner "U" and a spacer strip between the two U's.

That's the steamer in the background. It is made from 3" PVC pipe, clear hose, hose clamps, packing tape, a kettle from the junk store and a $12 heating unit made in China. It's ugly but it seems to work great. I stuff a rag in the top to hold the steam in - it's straight out of the KayakCraft book.