: Depends on what you're making the stems out of but most wood will
: make the bends cut much thicker than 1/16", might think
: about using the hot air gun or setting up a steamer.
: Or...recutting the stem's curves so it's not quite so tight.

: Bill H.

Thanks Bill. I was thinking of using Mahogany since I've already got a Mahogany keel strip down the center line. I'll try 1/8 inch first to see how it goes. I appreciate the ideas!

What do you mean by "recutting the stem's curves so it's not quite so tight"? I'm assuming I need to cut back the stems to an even width so the new external stem will be uniform. Is that correct? Since I ended up with a few "blemishes" when trying to interlock the strips at the stems, I was thinking I'd have to cut back to 1/2 inch (width across stem) to remove them and replace with the new external stem.