James,
Thanks for your input. I have already made up my mind to do a standard coaming. I resized the cockpit hole today and everything is ready to start on the riser. Even though I've seen a ton of pics of recessed coamings I just couldn't get my mind around it as far as adapting to my project. Hopefully I'll get a chance to try it on a future project.

--Tony

: In case it's still early enough to change your mind: I am a first time
: builder with no previous woodworking experience and I did the recessed
: cockpit. It was easier stripping than the rest of the boat and didn't take
: very long. It's probably the most fair section on the boat, and putting
: the lip on after was simple. Since I've never used the standard cockpit I
: really can't compare, but there were many worse jobs than the recessed
: cockpit.
: James