: Patsy, IIRC you are thinking of doing a Shooting Star? If so then my very
: limited experience may have some application. I doubt that this approach
: is new, but I have not seen it in any of my research on strip-building.

: On the North Star I am building I started strips at the shearline, the keel
: AND the waterline (or therabouts). That left me with two
: "footballs" to fill on each side of the hull. I find it easy to
: taper the strips for a good fit, so the extra tapering did not trouble me.

: The approach GREATLY simplified fitting the strips to the bowpiece. It
: reduced compound bending of the strips and I found it also helped when
: fitting the full length strips to the already constructed tailpiece.

: I used three 19mm strips and a 6mm pinstripe at the shearline to emphasise
: the length of the boat. Those strips also covered the sides of the
: "bulb" on the upper bow of the North Star resulting in the first
: tapered joint happening at the spot where the bow bifurcates.

: The area of tapered strips on the sides of the hull emphasises the curves of
: the forward part of the hull and the bifurcation of the bow, yet at the
: same time seems to blur the joints, so it looks more like one big piece of
: wood in that area. (Note that I have taken almost no care to try to match
: each strips colour or grain).

: I am nearly finished strippng the hull and very happy with the appearance so
: far. I will try to post some pics soon if there is interest.

: Cheers, Tony Bligh
Tony-I'm in the preliminary stages of building a North Star and would be VERY interested in any pictures you might have; have you paddled a North Star?-Greg