Chip,

I don't know that epoxy will be needed. A little slop in the rib mortices is no big deal. Once the whole structure is put together, the entire unit becomes very strong. A lot of the original Inuit qajaqs did not have perfectly tight joinery.

Mike

: I'm about three quarters done with my rib mortices and I have to say it's a
: little hair raising. They aren't that accurate. My holes are a little
: outside the marks - side to side. I've planned to use epoxy on this boat
: all along. I will probably end up putting a dollup of epoxy in each
: mortice when installing the ribs. I'm thinking a little paste wax on each
: rib will stop them from being permanently glued into the mortices.

: The picture is a drill guide that is supposed to give a uniform depth and
: hole spacing.

: www.ChipSandresky.com