Hello All!
I spent the better part of yesterday baking in the sun and assembling the center deck portion of my Chris Cunningham design Greenland S&G. I am looking towards next weekend which will be spent on the coaming.

My problem/dilemma is that the magazine article (from which I am building this thing) is not very specific about the coaming to deck relationship. My cockpit area looks very similar to the Sea Spirit's by Bobby Curtis. I did one thing differently from Cunningham in that I cut out the coaming pieces (ply rings and stacked and epoxied them together). The two halves are ready to go on the boat. Cunningham's article did not say to put them together ahead of time and I think I know why now. My two halves won't conform to the deck curvature in the state they are now in. I was assuming that riser/filler plys would be used to make the transition. However the gap is huge (1 1/2" worst spot). I was looking at Bill Price's Sea Spirit coaming construction and it appears that his coaming was built similar to mine only he layed it down one ply at a time and it conformed to the deck curvature. I have provided a link to this for reference.

I spent some time this morning visiting sites by Steve Frederick, Shawn Baker, Kurt Maurer, Ken, Nick Schade's Night Heron and Ross Leidy. My intent was to research the possibility of doing a vertical strip riser/bent coaming lip assembly in lieu of stacked rings of ply. If anyone can shed light on how I can use my already assembled coaming halves that would be great.

So here is the crux of what I am looking to find out...

1. If I use the method of ply rings is the proper technique to build one ply at a time to the deck so it can be clamped to the curvature? I have some pretty extreme curvature similar to the Sea Spirit design.

2. If I decide to use the vertical strip riser method do I have to bead and cove the strips? I have access to a table saw but it is not mine and I would like to avoid having to use it. I was thinking I could fill in cracks with thickened epoxy since I am painting anyway but if I don't bead and cove what surface will I have to glue one strip to it's neighbor?
Then there is the question of types of wood to use both for the risers and for the lip. I think I would follow the information shown by Steve Frederick if I go this route. He used approximately 122, 2 1/2" strips.

I don't want to attempt the fiberglass cloth layup designs that I have seen. That is just a little more than I care to attempt. I like that look though. Both Shawn and Nick had very interesting twists on the coaming. I thought of using Nick's method and kerfing a solid piece of wood to conform to the opening, gluing it in place and filling the kerfs. Also one of the other sites had what appeared to be a long strip of 1/8" wood soaked in a hot cloth and clamped to conform/dry to the cockpit opening. I like that idea too.

Anyway, just looking for some opinions. Bear in mind that I am an impatient builder and a beginner although I am starting to conquer my impatience on this project. I am working outdoors but can protect the boat against rain. My tools are minimal but I can borrow almost whatever I may need.

Listen to me, like I'm placing an order for advice! Geez, I'll appreciate any advice I can get.

Thanks a million,

Tony