: I am ready to glass the outside hull on my Great Auk 14. I have
: built 3 s&g boats but this is my first stripper. On my
: s&g boats I used 2" fiberglass tape on the keel. In his
: book Nick says to put a football shaped section of fiberglass on
: the hull over the first layer of fiberglass. Which is
: preferable, or is it an either/or scenario? The GA 14 has a more
: rounded shape than the 3 s&g boats so is that a
: consideration?

: Charles Robinson

My .02 - different critters; the FG tape reinforces the keel in a plywood boat; a stripper gets it's structural strength from the FG skins. Go with the football. Some folk run a second reinforcing strip ('tape') over the keel inside the stripper hull; I usually put a second layer in the cockpit section, and a width of reinforcement fore/aft of the cockpit, in the keel - but I'm using 3.25 ounce FG; if you're going heavier, not sure that's necessary. Wait for a bit, some of the real experts will add their bits.