: Since I,m pretty sure I want hatches in this boat, would having these
: holes cut out before hand ease the job of taping this sheer line seam on
: the inside? I'd really like to avoid sticking my head in the cockpit with
: a long stick rolling out the tape,this seems very unpleasant!

I suppose there may be a reason to wait until the deck and hull are joined before cutting out the hatches, but I can't think of what it is. I think it's easier to install the hatch lips with the deck off the hull, and certainly the seam tape is easier with the hatches cut out.

There are several schools of thought on how to handle the seam tape. I tried to use Nick's method without success. Goopy, slippery, messy are all words that come to mind, at least in my limited experience. (As I recall, there were a few other words that came to mind, too, but I'm trying to forget that part! ) I ended up using a method that Joe Greenley recommends - hot gluing bias cut cloth in place on the hull with *little* dots of hot glue cement. Once the deck to mated to the hull and taped / clamped together, the assembly can be tipped up on edge, the cloth tape flipped into place over the seam, and epoxied in place. This process was *much* easier for me - I'll use it again on the next boat.

See the last two paragraphs of the referenced web page for the sum total of comments on this process.

jrs