: Rob;

: First, I want to thank you for taking the time to share your insights.

: Second, I would like to ask your opinion on stable vs. stable less building.
: Given the importance of laying each strip flush with the forms and appearance
: considerations aside, I am wondering if stables would be better then
: stable less. I have done S&G before but will be doing my first strip built
: this fall.

: Thanks again for your input;
: Dennis

Thanks for taking the time to read my opinions. I hope they are helpful.

I assume you mean you are considering using staples.

I think the use of staples over the whole boat is the best way to go on your first stripper.

You can focus on aligning you strip edges which will give you the best results.

Then if you build another boat (of course you’ll build another boat even if you don’t think so now)
you‘ll know how the strips should fit and if they don’t do so, you will know it is a problem with
the stapleless method you are using, not your stripping ability.

When you work on your boat you spend most of the time with your nose about
three inches from the boat. You see those staple holes and they look big.

A lot of energy and time have been spent hiding filling and figuring out stapleless
stripping methods. The only time I notice staple holes on a boat is when I’m talking
to someone about how to strip without them.

Nick has resisted going stapleless for a long time and his boats looked great with staple
holes, and I never noticed them when we weren’t talking about staples.

I don’t have confidence in any stapleless stripping method that doesn’t somehow keep
each strip in contact with the stations and stems. The only method I know that does this
is the hot glue stapleless method I use. If there is nothing continuously holding each of
your strips to the stations and stems how can you expect them not to move, shift and
come away from the forms?

All the best,
Rob Macks
Laughing Loon CC&K
www.laughingloon.com