: Everything's looking good after one night strapped to the forms. I
: slackened them this morning (had them a bit tight) and
: everything stayed in place. I'll keep them lightly strapped
: until getting it fiberglassed in the next couple of days. I'm
: really surprised it worked out so well. For a while there, I was
: sure I had ruined the hull.

: Thanks for all of the help and suggestions and I'll be sure to post
: pictures when I finish...

You might want to gently hit the whole interior with a heat gun while the straps are good and tight. Don't burn it, but do try to drive out some of the moisture. The wood swells when it is wet, and shrinks when it is dry. Getting it warm to moderately hot will drive down the moisture content of the strips, just like drying boards in a kiln does. Keeping the forms in will help keep the shape. Some people put their boats out in the sun in black plastic bags to get the epoxy to cure faster. I would not try this method as the moisture will not be able to evaporate. You need air flow and heat. Or, you can do it the slow, cool way and put the boat in an air conditioned room for a few months.

Either way, store the boat with the open side up, and aim a fan at it. Air movement helps, too. Water vapor is lighter than air and rises. (when it gets high enough it hits cold air, condenses and forms clouds) Don't trap even tiny amounts of water vapor inside the inverted hull.

Good luck with your recovery effort. I had a similar problem when re fiberglassing my canoe. I stripped off the old glass on the outside of the hull and it got rained on. It took a couple years of just letting it rest (no heat, no fan) before the wood shrank back. It is still waiting for me to get it finished, but it has been inside and seems stable.

PGJ