: I've been haunting this site for some time and finally decided it was time to
: test the waters (feels pretty warm, I don't know if that's from the sun or
: the guy standing next to me, gotta be the sun:) Sorry about the poor
: humor, couldn't resist. A short progress report. . . I used Nick's book to
: loft the forms of the Guillemot, cut them out, put them on a 2X4
: strongback. Rather than cutting the strongback to length, I left it a
: little long and added 3/4" between each form on the strong back as my
: weight hovers between 215 and 230. The length of the boat will be around
: 18'. Otherwise, I haven't modified his design. I bought my WRC from a
: local lumber yard (Liverpool Lumber, okay I'll give em a plug as they were
: helpful). The WRC was smooth on one side an rough on the other. The strips
: have been cut which is where I made my first mistake and most certainly
: not my last. I didn't have a long enough run out which resulted in uneven
: thickness. Came on here and found the answer using the search engine. Also
: used two blades on my table which really did work well except I can tell
: there is a very minisucle difference in thickness between the two strips.
: I know this because when I routed the cove and beads some strips went
: under the feather board snugly whereas others were somewhat tight. So, the
: strips are all finished with cove and bead. Question number 1: I'm
: thinking about departing from Nick's book and would like to leave the cove
: and bead on the shear strip. This brings up an issue, if I do this when I
: stip the hull the the bead will be facing the keel. Should I do this or
: just do it the way Nick suggests in the book? More importantly, I'm having
: trouble getting these forms perfectly straight. I've noticed some of you
: here are perfectionists which is great, I wish I were that way but my
: patience won't allow it. Therefore I'm a "Good Enough" kind of
: guy. I guess that's why I'm planning on using staples cause I don't have
: the patience to wait for glue to dry. Anyway, sorry this is so long, any
: tips on the sheer strip and an "easy" method of aligning the
: forms would be appreciated. Wow, I guess I'm patient enough to be long
: winded! And if any of you live close to me, give me a shout!

I opted for coves on both edges of the hull sheer. Worked well for me, just know that that edge will need to be treated gingerly throughout the process. I was good until glassing the hull interior. Dripped epoxy in a couple spots. Pretty sure that's exactly what they made the Dremel for.

Don't know that it's perfectly applicable here, but consider the analogy that 'a building is only as good as it's foundation'. Though only temporary, the strongback and stations are the foundation of the boat. If the stations are not fare and true, doubt you'll be able to get the boat fare. It's not one of those things you can'take care of later'. I'd urge you to try and find the time and patience to get your stations true and fare. You are going to invest some serious hours into completing this project. There's gonna be plenty of other 'things' occur throughout the process that will test your patience for which you'll base decisions on 'what's it really worth to me?', but this one I think you need to take the time to get it right. My two-pence worth.

Todd