My shop is in the final stages of building a modified HNH. I stitched the hull together back in mid-September.
http://clearstreamwood.com/WordPress/projects/2010-neytiri-hnh/building-plywood-hull

Yes, you do have to force the ends of the bottom together. The panels have to twist about 45-60 degrees over those few feet.

The side panels should be fairly tight against the external forms. You are wiring the panels to them after all. BUT they mostly just hold the hull. It's more important that the panels fit tightly to the INTERNAL FORMS. Those are absolute and will be used to build the deck. Before I injected any epoxy into the joints I wired in the full internal forms. They're located at the same positions as the external ones. Pull the internal ones out with the wires before you run your fillets.

Any questions, let me know.

: I'm building a night heron hybrid for my first build and have just
: finished stitching the bottom hull panels and begun the sides.
: I'm finding I have to really force the side/bottom panels
: together at the stern of the boat, and somewhat at the bow. I
: assume this is normal but thought i'd ask to be sure? Also, i'm
: stitching the the hull in the external forms; should the panels
: be tight against the external forms, or are they more just for
: reference and not an absolute? I think thats all for now.