: I'm building a hybrid night heron (first timer) and am about to put
: the first strip on for the deck.

: Just where is this first strip going? You have a few chices.

Some put it down the centerline of the deck. That way it runs straight, and all flexing is done in a direction where the strips bends the easiest. A few dots of hot glue will hold it in place. put one dot on each form and lay the strip in place. In most cases yo can let this strip rn into the cockpit area, and also extend past the bow--so cutting to the correct length is not necessary. Trim it off later.

Some fit the strip against the hull. If you are building a hybrid you have to deal with the fact that the hull was made from a piece of plywood, and in cutting it you may not have an edge which will conform to the shape of a straight strip. In this case you need to do some sculpting to the first strip to get it to fit properly. For the sake of sanity, and getting some momentum, don't play with that now. Dig through your pile of strips and find some of the worst ones you have. This is an ideal place to use those last thin strips that get ripped from the boards. Plane them, or rip them to be about 1/2 inch wide and staple them temporarily to your forms. Keep these as straight as possible, but don't let them get over 1/4 inch away from the hull. The top edge should now be a fairly straight line for you to start your first full-width strip on, and you can clamp it or bungee it to this scrap strip. After you have a few strips installed, and maybe an occasional drop of hot glue here and there (don't use too much) you can go back and pull the staples or brads that are holding the scrap strip in place. Before you do, though, mark on it where there are gaps, and try to gauge how big those gaps are. You are going to be inserting a carved-to-fit full-width strip (a good one this time) in the hole where the scrap formerly sat. Using it as a gauge will speed up the process of getting the good strip to fit.

If you are planning to do a large ornamental strip decoration you might want to staple on some scrap strips to dfine the outline of where your marquetry will reside. Create the artwork, hot-gluing strips to forms where necessary. Remove the scrap strips on one edge and fit good strips in, the go to the other side and replace the stapeld scrap strips with good ones.

As long as your scrap strips--the ones which are too thin, or too full of knots--ae cut from the same boards as your good strips they-l be the same width. Pull one out and a good one slips in with almost no effort. Just don't glue any good strips to the bad ones!

I haven't read anywhere how to
: start that first strip? I'm trying for stapleless construction
: but i don't see how thats possible one the first strip?

You can always waste the first strip, fill it full of holes, then replace it later with a neater one. Just don't glue the 2nd strip to that sacrificial first one.

: Any
: suggestions? Also, as the first strip twists to stay flat on the
: forms a gap appears between strip and hull in the areas just
: behind and in front of the cockpit. Should i be making a rolling
: bevel on the underside of this first strip or is this a issue to
: address later when the deck is complete? Any play-by-play or
: other tips would be great!

If you are using a full width strip and get a gap, then you would need to replace it with a strip which is wider in order to fill that gap. No way we can stretch the wood to fill gaps. While a beveled edge might give a better gluing surface, the angle of the bevel is less important than getting a good fit. If you have a gap of 1/8th inch at some point, then you need to reduce the width of your strip by 1/8" everywhere it already touches! If you can, trim the wood to fit rather than force it to make bends and twists. All your trimming will be on only one edge of the strip, that leaves the other edge straight, and makes fitting the nest strips much easier.

Good luck with your planing. And don't hold the strips in your hand while you plane them. Cut a slot in a 2x4 wide enough to drop the strip in, and secure it with a few thin wedges. set the 2x4 at a convenient height on some sawhorses, or secure it to the strongback or work bench. A sharp plane and a sharp pencil are all you need after that.

Hope this helps

PGJ