: I'm about half way through my deck, and I've run into a problem. I've
: discovered that my center strips have pulled about 1/2" to one side
: at the bow, so that I'll have nearly one full strip extra on the other
: side. As my center strips are accent colored, it'll be noticable (at least
: to me). Also, at the pinch at the bow and stern my strips haven't been cut
: well, so that I'll have to patch in some filler wood to repair my
: mistakes.

: I have a fair amount of work in the deck so far, probably in the realm of 20
: hours. I probably have enough extra strips to scrap the deck and start
: over. My question for the forum is, at what point have any of you decided
: to scrap some major work and start over? I'm not looking for a perfect
: boat by any means, but I'm wondering if there's a "tipping
: point" where you've found the imperfections in your build detracting
: from your enjoyment of the boat.

If you've gone so far as to ask about it on this BB then it will bother you every time you look at it.

Those who won't be bothered won't think twice.

Do something.

Rip it off and start over. You will be surprised how fast this will be and how much you learned from your mistake.

OR, make it a design feature. Cover it with a veneer or hack off that part of the deck and add a new section.

I can't live with a mistake. It doesn't take long to fix and it feels great when you're done.

The time and energy you spend thinking about it and agonizing over the problem is longer and harder than fixing it.

I know, I've done it a hundred times.

You'd think after all the boats I've made, I'd not make any mistakes, but I do,
all the time. I'm just better at fixing them and I spend less time agonizing over them.

Make your mistake a "design feature".

A customer shipped me the North Star, I built for him, to repair the lower bow which was broken off after it slid off an SUV roof onto concrete. I told him not to wax it! Repairing the bow was easy but the jagged break line was visible.

I couldn't stand it, I had to do something, but what? I bought a wood burning tool and made dolphins and sea turtles from veneers and covered the flaw.

It looked like they were meant to be there.

On the last kayak I built I somehow mismatched the color of some strips on the rear deck. I don't know how many days I spent thinking, "It will look okay, - NO it won't". before I cut out the strips and replaced them.

So, do something to fix it. You'll be happier and learn a lot.

All the best,
Rob