Elliott,
I'm finishing one GE and working a second one now. On the second one I'm working the skeg too. That skeg is the toughest part of that boat in my opinion. Your right to taper the form. Suggestions: Use 1/4 inch strips to lay her up. And consider soaking them in hot water or steaming them. They have to make a 90 degree twist over 18 inches.

On our our shops second GE when the strips pull away from the form we carved v shaped strips and filled the void and coninued on the old strips will sand away easy enough making a smooth transition. Steaming will fix all of that

That skegs a neat shape that will be the crux problem on building that boat, but its sure a neat feature on long crossings.

Enjoy
!RUSS