Hi Mike,
: I am currently building a Night Heron with the standard deck. The stripping
: on the deck takes a very severe twist around the cockpit as it transitions
: from the front to the rather flat stern deck. I have needed to use screws
: at this point to keep the strips in place, even then with difficulty. This
: appears to be the way it was designed.

Indeed. And I did have the exactly the same problem as you a week ago, when I was doing that bit. In the book, Nick suggests using narrower strips for the hard parts - I guess that's one of them! I didn't use narrower strips - I did what you did (screws, sweat) and then some (modification of the design!).

: Does anyone see any potential
: problems that may arise later when the recess is cut or the staples(and
: screws) removed?

Um! I guess that I'll have to agree with the others and say that I think that you'll end up cutting most of the problem areas out - so don't worry about it. (Ah! Ever the optimist?)

I freaked out at the same point and posted a couple of messages here. Or, since it is wood, after all, we can probably hide most of our little problems... At least, that's what I keep telling myself!

'luck!
charles