For clarity's sake, we'll call the two sides of the hull the near side and the far side.

Run the near side strip past the inner stem. Cut it flush with the far side of the inner stem. Then, run the strip on the far side past the near side strip and cut it flush with the near side.

I was going to use outer stems all along, so I just butted the ends together as close to the centerline as possible, and then planed a flat spot along the joint to glue my outer stem to. I used two strips of 1/8" thick ash glued right to the boat for an outer stem. Believe me, you'll want something with a bit more impact resistance than cedar--especially someday down the road when you ram a big, submerged "loving" rock.

Shawn

: I seem to be having a lot of trouble neatly fitting the ends together where
: they meet at the bow and stern. I am using the overlaping finger method
: but am having trouble figuring out the angle to cut. I have had more luck
: if I lay the overlap strip first and then come back and cut the opposing
: side to fit underneath the overlap. This is the reverse of what is
: recommended in the book. Is there a trick that I am missing?