: I found that a vertical edge worked better. I have found that to this point
: stripping the recess was the most time consuming (as a measure of visual
: progress). Makes me wonder how many YEARS it would take me to build the
: entire boat without staples.....god bless staples!

I found that that part was faster than the rest of the boat, and staples would have only slowed me down. I stripped my entire recess in an afternoon.

How, you may ask? Well, for only $19.95, I will tell you. As seen on TV, it slices, it dices... just kidding.

An old woodworking trick: friction and heat cause regular carpenter's glue to set up much more quickly than time and patience. Cut the little tiny strip to fit, cover its long edge, and the edge that will butt into the deck, with glue and press it into place. Then, while applying firm pressure to the strip against the adjacent strip, slowly slide it back and forth about 1/4"-1/2". You will feel the strip begin to grab as the friction heats the glue and it starts to gel and stick. Before things get too tacky, pull the strip to its final location and let the glue set. I found I could do 4-6 strips per side before the freshly glued strips got too floppy, then I'd switch to the other side. After 15-20 minutes on the other side, the first side would be firm enough to glue more strips onto.

This would be difficult to do on full boat-length strips, as it's nearly impossible to apply that kind of even pressure along the length of a full-length strips, but for short strips, it's a godsend.

Shawn