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Sheer clamps, or nailing strips, are put on the sides of the kayak hull so that the deck can be nailed on. After you glue them on and put the hull together, you must plane these down to make room for the deck. Here are a few tips on how to do this properly.

This step can be a little tricky. No two boats are exactly the same. CLC kayak kits come with guides for cutting the sheer clamps to the correct angle. Although the guides that come with the kit are close, they won't be exact. This step can probably be done completely by eye, but the guides help a lot. Bulkheads and deckbeams should be in place by this step. The front bulkhead should just about match the 16" radius, as well as the deckbeams. The rear bulkhead should be close to the 24" radius.

At this point you need to plane from the deckbeam to the bow to match the 16" radius. To do this I take a nice sharp plane and work at it slowly. You will cut into the side panel. Assuming you glued it with a 1/4" overhang like the instructions specify, there will be enough panel left over to hold it. Just make sure you go slow and don't cut too much.

Rule # 1 when planing: Take your time and keep checking it so you don't cut off too much.

Keep looking down the length of it to make sure it is even. This photo shows how to inspect the strip. In this photo the sheer clamp is almost done. There are still a few small hills and valleys to plane off.

From the rear bulkhead to the stern I matched the 24" radius. As for in between the deckbeam and rear bulkhead? I simply did this by eye and made it fade from one angle to the other as evenly as possible. You can look down the side like I showed in the picture and see where it needs more planing.

Some other useful images:

Using the guide included in the kit.

You can match the sheer clamp here by looking at the deckbeam.

Trial fitting the deck after sheer clamps are in place.