Bryan Strips!

Well I got the first 2 strips on over the last couple of nights - one on each side of the boat along the sheer line. The bend at the bow and stern is tight and across the width of the strip so a heat gun was used to encourage the strips to bend. This worked well enough but it didn't exactly turn the strips into a wet noodle. The strips are held in place with a few staples here and there, packing tape, hot glue (at every station), and a few clamps. I am not really going staple-less but am trying to minimize the staple holes that I introduce. I consider the staple to be just another one of the tools I have available and I will use them when needed, along with tape, clamps, bungee cords, super glue, 4" screws, or whatever. Actually, I was not impressed with how easily the staples pulled out of the mdf forms and they did not do as well as I expected at holding the the strip in place on the forms close to the bow & stern where it twists as the strip curves downward, inward and becomes angled. The tips of the strips have been glued and clamped to the internal stem pieces carved earlier.

n.b. If you are scarfing together strips to make full-length pieces for the sheer strips, piece together two medium to short strips rather than tacking a couple of feet onto one that's almost long enough. Although it doesn't appear to have caused a problem, I realised last night that my scarf joints are right in the area that's bending and twisting the most and under the most stress. It would have been much better to have had this joint in the gently curving section towards the middle of the boat. The potential problem is that the jointed area of strip may not be quite as inclined to bend, or may not bend the same as the non-jointed regions on either side. Plus, the scarf would probably be less noticeable somewhere other than the bow & stern where the eye will be drawn.

After putting the first strip on, aligned with the sheer marked on each form, one of the forms appeared to sit slightly lower than the others. This was evident because the strip on that side dipped slightly at that spot. I put the strip onto the other side and that side seemed straight & fair. With the sheer strips attached to the forms, loosening the screws allowed the strips to shift the form into exactly the right spot, and remain there when the screws were re-tightened. Everything appears to be in good alignment now.

I can now start adding strips up the sides of the hull, using my sheer strips as a base.

Staple Tally: 8