: Can you be a little more specific. What is it that doesn't seem to line up?
: The centerline, waterline, deck surface?

Sorry Nick, I will try and explain again.

I pulled everything apart this morning and started again. This time I am having better success, but am still having a few problems.

The crux of the problem is than I do not seem to have a reference point for the first form. Everything seems to assume that this one must be correct.
After I have placed three (or four or five) forms and sight down them I can see that thay are not aligned. By the way, I use the vertical center-line, the water-line ("bottom of 2x4" line) and the "top of 2x4" line.

Now I can move the forms to make them line up, but this suposes that my first form is correctly aligned. If it is not I will be building a boat on the skew, if you see what I mean. Thinking about it as I sit here, I could of course make sure the water-line and vertical centerline are "level" with a spirit level, but that also suposes that my floor is level ?

I have one other question as well.

When you have drawn the centerline's on the strong back and the reference lines on the forms, you then place the forms on the strongback faceing towards each end crossing over at the center. Then you screw "cleats" onto the strongback in front of the forms. Doing this however obscures the centerlines on the strongback making aligning rather difficult. I ended up drawing lines on the cleats and then aligning these with the centerlines on the strongback and then aligning the forms with the new lines on the cleats ! Is this the right thing to do ? or have I read the book wrong (always a possability) ?

Thanks for the help

Ian