I have done steam bending for furniture parts before and normally you have to clamp the piece to a form , backed by a steel strap to prevent tearout of wood fibers.

That should not be necessary, we are not talking really big bends here.

Can you elaborate on the details of your technique? For example, do you cut the taper on each end of the strip first, then bend/twist the piece to fit using only your hands? Or would you bend it first then cut the tapers?

Definitely taper and bevel first, then bend. You can adjust a bit on the taper if necessary after bending, but much better before.

I use my hands to bend the strip, basically I bend it next to the final place, so I can see clearly what it needs to be bent like, but you have to over-bend a bit to allow for spring-back. Gloves save a lot of swearing :)

Are you using a clamping form other than the normal kayak forms? Thanks for the advice.
Jay

No, just the usual little wood pieces, spring clamps, tape and clamps.

Justin