+1 on that...
With thinner strips, IME there's more possibility of 'sagging' or 'giving way' between the forms and it's pretty easy to sand thin at the forms (which give a rigid backing), especially when using a ROS with a 5" sanding surface.
A 3/16 strip has less than half the stiffness of a 1/4 strip.

On a flat panel, yes.

On the three dimensional surfaces of a small boat the curves increase rigidity, so there is little difference.

VERY FEW people know how to sand. I'll tell you a secret, most "professionals" don't know how to do it either, that's why they make fairing boards. You know of any schools for sanding? You know any guys willing to go to a school for sanding? It's just, look at what the next guy's doing and copy it right?

The beauty of the random orbital sander is, it is more aggressive with light pressure, with the right grit.

If you are pressing so hard that you end up with a thinner hull near the station supports you're using the wrong sandpaper grit and you are using the ROS incorrectly. The only time you might need more pressure with a ROS is when the grit's not cutting. You either have too fine a grit or the sandpaper's worn out. Here's a flash, sandpaper wears out a lot faster than the manufacturers claim.

If you start the ROS off the wood and then put it on the wood. What happens? The sander disk got up to speed and when it touched the wood it cut aggressively, then slowed becoming less aggressive.

A lightweight ROS with a course grit paper, held lightly, even lifted off the wood at times, will work very fast.

Do yourself a favor. Learn to sand, because there is a LOT of sanding in building a stripper.

Read my page on sanding. http://www.laughingloon.com/sanding.html

Rob