I'm just past that point on a King. The fix you suggest of cutting out and putting in a decrative strip would work as would filling the gaps. You might also consider just putting in a decorative feature in the area which is hard to strip and doing normal joints when it flattens out. I put in some features on mine so had intended to cut out from the start -- saved a lot of agrivation. I prefer the feature idea because of the difficulty in cutting out the full length of the boat to put in a strip -- odds are I would screw up someplace in 36 feet of cutting. Doing something similar to a football as you suggest would also work but it would be more important that the joints line up. I would be more tempted to cut, put in a full length strip and join to that.
good luck
don
: I am stripping the deck on my King and I am stripping parallel to the shear
: at the bow and stern. The strips are kind of twisty/curvy here so my
: miters aren't as neat as I would like. Any suggestions for improving the
: appearance of the joint(s)? I thought I might saw a thin gap down the
: centerline of the deck and fill it with a thin strip. But I'm not sure how
: this would turn out.

: I have only stripped about 2" away from the sheer so far. The strips are
: now running pretty flat at the miters. My second idea is to live with the
: joints I have. From here, what if I strip only one side and let the ends
: run across the center line. I can then saw down the center line. When I
: strip the other side, I would only have to taper the end to meet the saw
: cut. Thanks in advance for the advice.

: Chris