: Btw, how it's normally done, should be in the book? Normally the forms are
: cut out slighty oversize then sanded to exact size. The average craftsman
: can't cut exactly on a cutout line so this eliminates mistakes.

: Bill H.
Thanks Bill and everyone for your responses! Ian, I'd actually already had your blog bookmarked, as the information and pictures are very instructive. I must have missed in the book the recommendation to cut them oversize and sand down; I'll re-check.

I did end up using my new Lie Nielsen block plan to smooth the edges (and what an amazing thing a good plane is!) but, while approximately fair and symetrical, the forms still have a few deviations.

Some of the dips - maybe 1/16" off-true - I can mark beforehand so that I can allow the strips to smooth out a curve at that point. Some of the asymetries I can try to sand down, but the overall shape may vary slightly from the plan. As I'm going for experience and functionality in my first boat rather than artistry I think I can live with this.

BTW, an interesting idea occured to me for working with forms based on a home improvement TV show I was watching earlier. For my forms, I lofted a half-form on graph paper, cut it out, then used the cutout to trace a full form on craft paper. The full forms were cut out and glued to particle board. This led to some imperfections from the initial drafting, the cutting the graph paper, tracing errors, etc.

Another possibility would be to print the cutouts onto printable transfer paper. This is similar to an iron-on decal that you can print on an inkjet printer. Using this paper, I could print full forms, transfer the design directly to particle board, and darken waterlines and centerlines manually as necessary. Short of a CNC router, this would seem to eliminate many of the possible error points in the process.