> I am getting ready to glass the deck of my Arctic Tern, but wanted to add
> something to individualize the boat. Being a first-time builder and not
> sure where to begin, I focussed on a 5" portion of the triangle
> formed where the center deck panels meet at the forward end and are nicely
> "contained" by the converging shear panels. I used a Dremmel to
> remove two of the three plywood layers in this area, leaving one layer
> that was backed on the underside by heavy glass tape which runs the length
> of the center seam. Making the first cut was scarey, but after the initial
> shock of defacing the beautiful woodgrain passed, it went smoothly. I had
> no problem controling the depth of cut since the plywood & glue layers
> were excellent markers. I've since epoxyed in some ebony & mammoth
> tusk pieces (don't scream, the chunk o'tusk was in the family for years),
> sanded everything flush and am ready to cover the whole deck with cloth.
> No pics yet since I'm still in the emulsion age. Question: has anyone else
> out there experimented with adding inlays to stitch & glue panels?
> Where did you place it and by what methods? I really like the look, but
> wonder: Did I go too far...or not far enough? Cheers, Chuck

Hi Chuck:

I've used 2 other methods for some basic inlays on my stripper yak.

The first is to leave a large gap in the strips, contour it to my desired profile, add edges, and clean up the underside and add (1in x 1in or so) filler bits in a mosaic pattern from the underside until the edges are overlapped.

The second is to make templates and use a router to route out the shapes in the hull right thru the strips. Then I tape tracing paper over the hole and lay the pencil lead sideways across the edge of the hole so the hole sizes is transferred exactly to the trace. Then spray glue the trace onto a laid up pc of stripping that is larger than the hole. Cut by bandsaw to the line and carefully file and check until it fits.

Both seem to be quite effective at this stage for what I want, but only the final result will tell. Good luck on yours, it sounds great.

-mick