John,

When making the pattern shown in the image of Joe's boat, he recommended I do the following on my boat:

1. Strip the bow and stern background sections (parallel to the keel)
2. Cut swoop lines into these background sections
3. Strip the four background sections outside of the swoops paralles to the sheer strip.
4. Cut swoop lines into these 4 background sections.
5. Strip the swoops.
6. Stip the fore and aft cockpit background sections (parallel to the keel).

You can see the results at a link on my website at http://www.metakrome.com/kayak/kframe.html

: When making a decorative pattern on deck similar to the Redfish kayak below,
: is it preferable to first strip the whole deck with the base/background
: strips and then cut out the areas to inlay, or is it better to lay the
: curved pattern first and then fit strips to it? I've seen both methods
: described in books and web sites, but would like to know which method
: might produce a better result for a novice strip builder.

: I am building a Guillemot and would like some curved design on the deck to
: complement the flow of water around the boat, but am having trouble
: deciding the method to use.

: Thanks for all the great tips I've already gleaned from reading this BB!

: Thanks,

: John C
: Dallas, Texas