1) Yes, glue one ring at a time so you can better match the deck curvature. If you try to clamp both rings at once, you'll deform your deck. Once you glue your first ring, it will make the deck's curvature even stronger, and the second ring and coaming will go on like buttah.

2) No, you really don't have to bead & cove...ever. It's nice, but also just takes time, makes your strips narrower, and will take more strips to do the lip.

That said, though, a stripped riser is lighter weight, and if glassed, as strong as a stacked ply coaming riser. You can also make the inside opening larger for the same outside dimensions.

I highly, highly, HIGHLY, recommend Mick Allen's double recess for any boat, especially a fine kayak like the Cunningham S&G which you'll eventually want to roll. John Doornink built this boat last year and is contemplating retrofitting a recess into his. (This is pretty much what I'm currently doing to my Guillemot:) http://www.geocities.com/shawnkayak/guillemot/deckrecess

The double recess built originally on the Cormorant:
http://www.geocities.com/shawnkayak/cormorant/#coaming

You may be an impatient builder; you can start on this sort of recess right away!! Any little extra time spent will be well worth it in the end. I promise. (I'm not specifically talking about precise fit and finish--that's up to you, and I'm personally not a "clockmaker". Just that the double recess will take another week, but it's worth it.)

Shawn

: 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