I am nearly finished stripping the hull of my North Star. This is my first boat so treat my observations with appropriate caution!

The bow piece is fairly straight forward, but be sure to taper the centre piece of the lamination. The two outer pieces can be planed/sanded after the hull is built, but you need to taper the centre piece as shown in Rob's plans, and I found it easy to miss that step in my haste to start gluing. I now have a spare untapered but otherwise beautiful Silky Oak (I think you call it lacewood) North Star bow laying in the corner of my workshop...

The tail piece is a pain, but can be done and once completed the experience will make the rest of the hull seem like a doddle.

In addition to the Silky Oak bow, I am using Australian Red Cedar (Toona Australis), which is a bit denser than WRC, and Australian Silver Ash, which is a LOT denser and harder. My Red Cedar is air dried. The Silver Ash is kiln dried. I tried heat guns and steaming which worked, but I found that the cedar bent like spaghetti if I soaked the 3/4 inch strips in water for a few hours and then microwaved a single strip for around 2 minutes. (The strips for the tail piece easily fit in the oven). Wear gloves when you grab the strip and bend it promptly but gradually after you microwave. Clamp and staple to the tail piece forms and let dry for an hour or so.

The 1/4 X 1/4 pinstripes of silver ash responded best to steaming, although the microwave worked too if they were soaked for a while longer.

Do not stress about the precise place for the transition from partial to full length strips on the tailpiece. I found it easy to trim the partial strips back when the appropriate point became apparent as I stripped the keel.

Do not be too disheartened if it looks a bit rough as you are building. Magic happens when you start to sand.

Cheers, Tony Bligh