Charles:

Thanks for the kind words about the site. I had gleaned so much off of the sites of others, I figured I should add to the "living mass" of information.

Contrary to how it may appear, I am far from a perfectionist. I think part of the thing I have learned building this boat is that there are things about which you need to exercise extreme care (i.e., form alignment), and others that are of less importance (i.e., to use or not use staples). I have tried to keep in perspective the fact that not everyone in my household is as obsessed with the project as I am (though they do feed my obsession constantly), and try not to miss out on too many events due to working on it ("Honey, we're opening presents now." "Just one more fill coat, I promise.").

As for the boat, I decided on the rounded deck option. I just liked the lines better. On the picture of the form, the flat deck option would have followed the green line.

I just finished a light fill coat on the inside of the hull last night and am moving on to cutting out the cockpit and working on the coaming.

Like you mention, I started out thinking that there was a difference between "Art Boats" and the the rest (mine included with the latter). I have come to conclude that any boat that someone takes the time to make by hand is art.

Regards,

Marcel