This topic is similar to a thread started by Andrew Smith a while back, but that thread came to no real conclusion on this matter.

In Nick's book (The Strip-Built Sea Kayak) the Guillemot 17 offsets are :

sterm endform bottom -1.78
station #15 keel -1.62
difference 0.16 (more than half a strip thickness)

bow endform bottom -0.68
station #2 keel -0.41
difference 0.28 (more than a strip thickness!)

The deck side also has minor differences, but they are smaller and I don't really care about being quite as precise on the deck.

I am not criticising the book (it is great!) but just want to built the boat appropriately.

I am a first time builder and trust Nick's book, so I just built the forms as in the book and thought it must just work out somehow, but... I am now near stripping to this point on the hull and not sure now to best proceed.

I was very careful planing the bevel on the endforms to keep the original 1/32 inch area in the center so the differences noted above appear on my built up forms as expected.

Does this difference matter? Maybe the flex in the strongback or the forcing involved in joining the deck and hull introduce much greater differences in the keel shape.

I think I could just "do it" and it would work out, but I want to keep the design as close to Nick's as possible especially at the stem areas where changes might cause the boat to handle differently.

Should the strips hold tight to the station forms and maybe plane down the endform a bit

-- or --

should I hold to the endforms and have the keel strips on the #2 and #15 forms raised slightly off the station forms?

If I keep the forms as they are, I will end up with a concave area in the final external hull near the keel of form 2 and 15. Effectively extending the keel point of form 2 and 15. Is this correct or should I keep the nice flat V shape of the original station forms.

I am using 1/4 by 5/8 hand beveled WRC strips parallel to the sheer. I plan to plane off the keel strips and do an approximately 1/2 inch wide ash external sheer strip modelled after the stripped shape as closely as possible. (I am building strips to the tips as if they were not to be planed off for my own practice and to get the proper shape of the keel.) I am just now over the sheers and not quite to the endform/station discrepency. I plan to transition shortly to parallel to the keel and do the "football" area.

Planning to use Alaskan yellow cedar as the last "highlight" strip parallel to keel and put this in after the football area so I can saw the end of all football/keel strips at one time and not worry about precise fitting of all those strips.

Thanks in advance for any advice on this and all the other great advice and motivation on this board!

Kendall
(Seattle area)