: I've not yet built a stripper. Hybrid, inflatable, and many SOF's,
: yes. I'd not worry about 1/16, or probably even 1/8" out.
: On my SOF's, I was very particular about making sure the keel is
: straight & true. On one of my kayaks, sometime during
: skinning, the keel developed a strong hook. As I had already
: started varnishing before I noticed the defect, I pressed on-
: nothing to lose, right?

: The kayak actually does not care. I have never, ever noticed the
: kayak favoring one side or handling differently side to side.
: Even if I stop paddling in totally calm conditions, the kayak is
: no more likely to veer right than left.

: Ascetically, the hooked keel bothered me. Practically, it has made
: no difference. Now I have fun letting people paddle my boat,
: then showing them how out of whack it really is :-)

: Happy building!

: Chuck

I've been building a Twin Star Tandem and ran into the problem of how to make a strongback 21' long, perfectly straight and flat and also strong enough to be able to pulley it up out of the way when using the shop for other projects. Being a builder manufactured I-joist came to mind. The are light, stable, perfectly straight and available in any length desired. Using three of these screwed together to make the strongback worked great. Andy