I have not yet tried the heat gun. Can you give me more specific advise on how to use it in this case?

Get an inexpensive heat gun and clamp it so that it is shooting hot air straight up. Position the sheer strip on the boat loosly and get a good look at the curve and twist you need. Bring the strip over to the heat gun and while holding the curve and twist in the strip, position the strip about two inches from the nozzle and feed it slowly through the hot air stream at about 1" of strip per second. How far from the nozzle and how fast the feed rate will depend on the thickness of your strip and the wattage (temperature) of your gun. As you are feeding the strip through, it will begin to toast the wood to a black/brown color. Move faster if it is toasting it too much, but light sanding will remove the blackness as long as the strip is not overdone. After you have run the strip through continue to hold the curve and twist in the piece for about 30 seconds while it cools. Take it over to the boat and viola, perfect fit! Well.... perfect after a bit of practice, be prepared to bugger up a few.