: If I
: remember correctly, my first kit remained in its boxes for some months
: while I lurked here trying to get up the courage to actually build a boat
: I was going to trust my life to.

Aah, yes, a small number of us remember you building a gorgeous topper while you decided to build a boat. Then, it was like "jeez, just build the boat--it can't be any tougher than a custom topper"!

You could show some tips for dealing with the wires--leave 'em in and fillet over them, fillet between wires & pull them out, heat wires with electricity or a soldering iron and pull 'em out of the fillet....