The Hull Has Been Stripped!

I'm feeling much better now : ) The hull is finally stripped in and the kayak is taking shape. I'll do a little cleanup sanding and planing after I remove most of the staples. Then it will be time to tip it over and start working on the deck.

Placing the Keel

I went up one more strip and then decided to run my keel strip. This was one of my best moves! Once the keel strip was layed, I worked backward towards the curve. At the keel, the strips layed flat on the forms which made it much easier to work with. I was almost able to finish half of the kayak's hull in one night. Things are looking much better : )

Making the Curve

It's taken me some time to figure out how to round the curve and get my strips closer to the forms. My solution was to go up 3 strips and work back down. The fill in strip was put in with 3 sections... not the very cleanest solution but it got me past the curve.

Pulling away from the forms

Currently, my strips are doing good in the middle of the kayak hitting the forms but the ends are not. Although I don't think that it will make the kayak sink, I will loose some of the sleek form and I will have a tough time pulling the strips around to the keel.

If anyone has advise on how I could finish off the hull and pull my strips in closer to the forms I would appreciate it.

slow progress

I've added my first cheater strips, but may have wanted to add some sooner. My bow is now about 2 strips lower than the stern, and I need to get them evened out.