Last two Strips







































I faired a small patch near the bow to check out the grain. The 'racing stripes' look pretty good.

Home stretch.

41 down and 5 to go (plus two slivers).

I've done about 30 strips now, including the keel strips.

Things are moving much faster now. I did 4 strips tonight. These are taking me about 25 minutes per strip as opposed to an hour or more per strip for the sides. This is mainly due to the fact that I don't have to scarf the strips and I don't have to add anymore cheater strips.

I've learned a couple of things. First, it is very difficult to fit an end of a strip to a cove and have a tight joint. I cut the bead off the keel strips and now only have to bevel the ends to meet and produce a tight joint. some of the best ones are shown in the second picture.

Second, it's good to leave a little extra length in these "football" strips. After laying the glue bead down, I insert each scarf into it's "socket". Then I even out the excess and put a staple in the middle. I then work out to each end. The excess length forces the strip to bow out, providing a little seating force.

I should be able to meet my goal of having the hull stripped before our vacation starts next week.