: I am working hard to perfect my strip building and i am wondering
: how much of a gap is reasonable to expect from this style of
: construction. I would like to think I am fitting my strips as
: perfectly as strip building allows but I only have my work to
: compare to pics and text on the Internet. Having my face 6
: inches from my boat I see canyons in every flaw.

: I am now using 3/16 strips with b and c and staples. The gaps I see
: in my work are small, maybe 1/32 of an inch or slightly larger.
: Not enough to creat an opening between strips but expose the
: bead and cove to some extent. These gaps seem to demand filling
: and I have found filling them causes more harm than good.

: Am I being too critical or are these gaps typical of the bead and
: cove process.

I guess that you're planning on varnishing the boat when you're finished and not going with paint? In the first case, any gaps are more likely to show up in the final product. In the latter, the gaps can be filled and because the boat is painted (provided the filling has been done properly) no one will be the wiser. I am in the process of building the Black Pearl and just finished the rough planking of the hull. While I was careful to get good fits on the strips, I did not get really hung up on the gaps. Any gaps that I deem too big, I will simply fill - with either a water based filler or I may just brush in some expoxy - as per the designer's suggestion. After the inital sanding, any remaining gaps or imprefections will be filled prior to final sanding/glassing. A nice coat of black paint will hide all once I'm done.

While I've built SOF and S&G boats, this is my first stripper and I must admit I am enjoying it so far. Of course, the hard chines of the Black Pearl make planking pretty easy and because I'm painting, there is no time spent on fitting/cutting of a pttern on the hull. This makes for a quick planking job.

http://justyakkin2.blogspot.com/2012/02/black-pearl-project-strip-planking-hull.html

Sean