Ok, I had a thought...<br /><br />Could I make a stringer patten like this:<br /><br />Lay a piece of flexible wood (such as plywood) on the OUTSIDE of the boat and trace along the sides? Square the plywood at the transom and bottom.<br /><br />I noticed that my stringers only curve back about 4ft from the bow. The rest is straight through. I'm just paranoid about cutting for that curve on $50 boards!<br /><br />I'm trying the 'string' method now, on the inside, but after grinding the old glass out, you can imagine the hills and valleys left behind. It's not major, but I would like to get a real true pattern.<br /><br />I vaguely remember reading something about making patterns from the outside of the boat along its' bottom.<br /><br />I just wished I had even a small amount of old stringer left, but they were completely rotted.<br /><br />How do the manufactures make a pattern from scratch? Good 'ol trial and error?<br /><br />What ya all think?<br /><br />H.