: Hi Bill,
: You should have no problems with making your own deck forms. Myrl is right,
: the Chesapeake is easy because it's just an arc (16" rad
: fore/22" rad. aft, I think). An arc shape would be a good starting
: point, but you may need to adjust the height in order to fit inside. For
: kicks, just start with cardboard, and cut some arc shaped pieces that fit
: between the sheers. Duct tape to hold them in place, then hold a long
: straight wood strip (any size) to see if the cardboard forms are fair.
: Adjust until satisfied, then copy/cut the temporary forms out of some
: scrap plywood (3/8"-3/4") and use angle brackets to attach them
: to the sheerclamps (if you install sheerclamps). Check again, over and
: over, and adjust to make it look good. If all looks fair and you are
: comfortable with the size/height of the cockpit, start stripping. Keep in
: mind that you will not have the exact same volume as was designed, but it
: should be close. The deck shape should have little affect on how the boat
: performs, other than the higher deck will catch more wind, but will also
: hold more gear. When I tried this technique with a 0.33 Cirrus model and
: used the same sizes as my Chesapeake, the deck came out very low. At full
: size you would never fit in the cockpit. On my full sized Cirrus, I used
: the supplied forms, but rounded them off slightly. It's personal
: preference, not rocket science.

: The number of these forms needed is also up to you. The more forms, the
: harder it is to make them all line up, but will be more pleasurable to
: work with. The fewer the forms, the easier it is to fair them, but you may
: find it necessary to add more later. Unless the shape is very complex, you
: could get by with 18"-24" spacing.

:
: SMF

On the hybrid Cormorant I am building, I simply used an increasing radius for the front deck. I believe I started with a 16" radius for the form at the front of the coaming. I increased the radius by 2" per foot for each form moving toward the bow. I stopped at a 24" radius as this is fairly flat. I made the rear deck flat. I'm pleased with the outcome. I have some pictures of the forms on my webpage. If anyone is interested, I can post a side view picture.

Kurt