: 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.

Overall specially for a first build, it's a really good idea to just order the plans for the boat. Usually they have full size templates in the plans that pretty much eliminates these problems. Usually also alot of extra details in the plans that you miss in a book.

Once you've got plenty of experience then building from a book is possible, still far easier with full size plans.

Bill H.