Boy, that was a long winter! I'm finally back to working on that Storm LT; I had to stop last fall, just after glassing the outsides. Got the carbon fiber coaming done (it looks okay..... next one will be better!), just finished glassing the underside of the deck. And tonight, finally had the chance to pop the strongback/stations out of the hull, just to see if I could. That stern was nip and tuck, but finally came loose. Had me sweating that one, a bit. Visions of converting to a squareback canoe crossed my mind.....

I went with an internal stem; just seemed like the right thing to do. Looks like I was a bit optimistic in my estimates, and I've got more internal stem than I had intended. I presume I can use a dremel grinder, and bring that down a bit - any suggestions before I cause irreparable harm?

I tried the scraper for the inside woodwork - not too impressed, personally. The 3-M softpad/60 grit sheet on a drill - now that was slick! I'm using 3.25 ounce tightweave glass - doubled in some areas. I doubled under the future hatch sites, plus some strips along the hull, just to stiffen it up a bit. I plan on doing the same inside the hull, plus a second layer along the keel. I am, as always, open to criticism/suggestions/implorings from my betters; if you have a better way to proceed, don't be shy!

I'm very much enjoying building this stripper - but it's too bad I'm not faster/more productive. I'm learning so much on this project, if I was more on the ball, I could get darned right good at this, I think. Already contemplating the next build (that's a bad sign, isn't it?)