Try as I might, I just can't understand Morris' nor Cunningham's instructions about laying out the length of the ribs. Awhile back, someone posted about using pieces of formica top to form rib mockups. In cleaning out the basement (to ready for this project), I found a venitian blind. I took the plastic louvres and cut them to size for mock-ups. They are flexible enough and sturdy enough to give a good indea of what the ribs will look like on the boat when done. The only other thing to make the louvres work better was to cut short pieces of wood weather stripping to hold the plastic against the side of the gunwale mortices to ensure the correct length and fit. Also the wood pieces maintain the gunwale angle. At the point where you want to see the rib bend, you cut the wood pieces slightly lower that that point to allow the louvre pieces to take nice curves.

I am glad I got measuring the rib lengths out of the way. I was really dreading this point being as numerically challenged as I am.

sing.