There is nothing magic about the shape of the cockpit. While it is impossible to lay the pattern flat when the front and back are at different heights, it doesn't really matter. The goal is to make a smooth, symetrical curve. Just lay the pattern in place and make as smooth as you can.

If you want to make a recess around the cockpit you can use the same pattern. Move the pattern forward a couple inches and trace it back to the widest point and then move it behind the cockpit location by a little and again trace to the widest point. Connect the curves by eye. When you are done, look at the line from the side to see if it makes a nice curve. Tweek by hand as required.

Spray skirts all have bungie cords at the edge so they can conform to different size cockpits. Don't worry if the cockpit does not exactly match the pattern.

: I'm making progress on my Hybrid Merganser 17W. The hull is built and
: glassed. The deck is stripped and glassed. Next step is to cut out and
: build the cockpit. I'ld like to make a recessed one. The kit (from
: Newfound Woodworks) came with a half template of the cockpit outline (a
: curve drawn on a piece of heavy paper). The deck itself has a large
: difference in deck height between the rear and front of the cockpit area
: (about 4-5 inches) with a strong curve to the deck in between. This leads
: to my two questions: 1) Any recommendations on how to transfer the curve
: from the template to the deck? It is difficult to simply lay the sheet out
: flat (or even close to flat). Should I cut out some of paper in the the
: area inside the curve?

: 2) What is a good way to increase the size of the opening I cut so that I can
: build the recessed deck? I'ld like to basically keep the shape of the
: template but enlarge it by about 2" all around.

: Any help would be appreciated.

: ---Paul Johnson

: PS: I have put a bunch of pictures of building my kayak on my web-site at
: work but have not yet really editied them. After doing so this week I'll
: let you all know the URL.