Art:
The swoops were the toughest part of the deck. The bend from the top to the shear strip was essentially 90 degrees. I used 1/4" strips and didn't want to steam each one (I went stapleless and without cove and bead to even more complicate my first boat) After a number of cracked pieces I just bent them to the max and glued them letting the ends go free. I filled the 1-2" transition (depending on the swoop) area after I square cut the ends. It looks fine and only I know why the stripping pattern is like that.

Cutting out the cockpit was very easy and I used Vaclav's carbon fiber coaming technique to build the coaming, (Link below). The high tech carbon fiber is a very nice contrast with the wood. I also installed a 6" black day hatch which adds another small black element to the deck design.

I really appreciate the assistance and expertise provided by the folks in the business like Nick and Rob. If I had the opportunity to make boats for a living I'm sure I'd develop some tricks of the trade and as these guys do share them much to the benefit of us newbies. What counts is it's your boat. You decide what you want to do and you live with the results. If you're unhappy you know enough to redo it if warranted, if not there's always the next one....

Mitch