You should be able to make a good fair curve. I use a flexible strip of wood as a guide when penciling where to cut.

However, I would do the stripping order differently: First, strip both ends of the kayak with dark cedar. Then cut the fair curve using a Japanese saw (not sure what real name of the saw is). Next, lay in the maple accent strips, which will also highlight any unfair curve areas. Then just butt-join the light strips to the maple, running the other end into the cockpit area.

My thinking is that there is value to getting the maple strip right before stripping the second side next to it.

John