Pygmy has gone to using 2"-wide strips of fiberglass tape on either side of a butt joint instead of a wood backplate. But for some reason ALL of my butt joints on my Arctic Tern came out poorly. The tape didn't go nearly as clear as the larger sheets of fiberglass cloth that go on later, so at each joint there is a slightly cloudy 2"-wide strip which shows up most prominently in direct sunlight. Add to this the fact that some epoxy must also be brushed out onto the surrounding wood, so I also have a 6"-wide area at each butt joint that is darker. The epoxy didn't equalize in color as Pygmy had claimed.

So my next stitch-and-glue boat will have scarf joints. But you're better off choosing your boat based on fit and handling than on the joint method.

Dean