: I have decided to take a break from stripping the deck of my
: guillemot and instead install the external stem peices on the
: hull.

: Question... how thick should I make the stem pieces? My stems will
: be laminations of walnut, my pieces are cut to 1/4 x 3/4 and my
: thought is to go with about 3 feet long and three laminations
: thick so 3/4 inch.

: What is the common concensious for stems? Should I go longer or
: shorter than 3 feet? How thick given it is a guillemot with
: apparent poor tracking? I do not wish to use a skeg or rudder.
: Is 1/4 inch walnut to thick for the bend? or should I plane it
: to 1/8th?

: Ametuer questions I know but learning is a curve, yes!

: Thanks again
: dave g

: PS thought this one up the other day after another foolish goof and
: had a good laugh, thought I'd share "The sharpness of the
: tool, doesn't always compensate for the dullness of the
: mind."

On my Disko Bay the external stems are alternating laminations of mahogany and ash, without steaming them I couldn't get them to make the bend with plies thicker than 1/8" and at the time I didn't have a steamer. Mine are, without looking at them, about 3/4" in the fore and aft plane.

Bill H.