: 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.

Radius shouldn't be that hard to bend a strip over, it will need heated to do it, but that's normal. Yes, you'll need to cut back the strips so the width is even or the stem will look awful.

You can always alter the radius between the bottom and the bow, making the radius larger will make bending the strips easier.

Bill H.