#1. Brute force and lots of clamps. If you start placing a clamp every 4-6" where the sheer really curves upward, you'll be amazed how much bend you can put into wood. By the way, did I mention you need lots of clamps?

Shawn
"You can never have too many clamps".

The photo below shows the bare minimum number of clamps required for a Chesapeake 17. I now own 4x as many, and it's still not enough!

: OK, I've finally gotten started on my Merganser 17W Hybrid. All the hull
: panels are butt-jointed
: together. The next step is to glue on the shear clamps (3/4" x 1/2"
: x 18+'). These are to
: go on about 3/8" proud in the middle (cockpit area) gradually going to
: 1/8" proud in bow and
: stern regions. This all seems quite do-able EXCEPT at the bow where the shear
: line curves somewhat
: sharply. Any suggestions on how to attach the shear clamps at the bow? I can
: think of 4
: possibilities: 1) Just brute force it into shape using a bunch of clamps (and
: maybe a nail/screw or two).
: 2) Cut the clamp short and re-join the short piece at an angle to match the
: bow curve.
: 3) Just get as close as possible to the bow and cut off the last couple
: inches.
: 4) Make sure the clamp is 1/8" proud at the bow-tip and let it be too
: proud over the length of
: the sharp curve. It's going to be beveled back to the shear line in any case.

: What to do -- what to do?

: ---Paul