:...epoxy in the spring.

Yes, a wonderful time to epoxy in a shop of garage or "outbuilding" type.

:The lights sounds like a good idea along with keeping the bottle in my pocket
: and using a heat gun to warm the strips.

The heat gun thing is a bit foreign to me...read of our fellows using it to help "bend" strips to fit tight contours. I'm not sure it would be worth the extra effort to heat the strips before laying a bead of glue...if only because wood seems more of an insulator than a conductor of heat. Then, someone with more experience with the heat gun in this application might be a better reference.

:I'm probably just too uptight about this whole thing, but I want the
: boat to look good.

What the heck? If you want to be uptight, even a bit...cool. It's your boat, and maybe in some twisted irony, being "up tight" about it is part of the joy of building your boat! Besides, it's good to take a certain amount of pride in your effort...even the effort that is "unwarranted". Good for you Scott...that you're even undertaking the task of building your own boat! Notice the redundancy..."YOUR BOAT"...awesome! And just as cool, that we're on this great bulletin board communicating about it! Here I am, stalled in my own efforts, yet I can groove on yours. Be well fellow Boat Builder!

Cruz, W.F.