So sorry;

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Hi,

This is a subject that has been well covered, I know, but I remain confused...

I am working on fitting the keel strips on my guillemot - have decided it's time, since I am 3 strips past the chines at the widest part of the boat, just buried the bow form, and almost have buried the stern form. The bow meeting of the keel strips is great, but the stern (as usual) is proving challenging. I have a slight gap from form 15 just before the keel, but even with this gentler curve, it looks like the ends of the football strips will have to make some funks angles and kinks to fill the hull in.

Here's the question: would it be a good idea to shim the keel strips up a bit (1/4"?) at the stern, using a couple of mini-cheaters? While this might sound aesthetically weird, it seems like it would ease the transitions of the other strips. And it might give me a slightly deeper and sharper keel line between forms 14 and 15, possibly a good compensation for having missed a tad on the pinched stern.

Or (brainwave), should I just relax, go with the reasonable, if slightly flat, keel I have just whittled, and finish the hull? After all, I will be putting walnut stem strips over this area, and I can add a skeg later, right?

C