I've gone throught (most of) the archives and can't seem to find pros and cons to leaving hardwood stems in the boat vs. leaving attached to the forms.

Nick's book kinda brushes over the subject as a 'my brother sometimes does it' but most of the BBS discussion leads me to believe that separate 'leave in the boat' stems are more prevelant....Then I read about Spidey using duct tape on the beveled end.

I'm planning on 1/2 plywood forms, If I choose 'leave in the boat', would simply cutting the end forms at the bevel line be OK or should shaped hardwood be used?