: Hmmmm...maybe I didn't make myself clear. I'm not putting a strip
: of glass down the outside seam. ( Yes, I'm putting a 3"
: wide strip on inside). Instead I'm laying the glass over the
: deck and letting it drape down 2" onto the hull. That
: overlapping becomes my OUTside seam. When I put on the fill
: coats...I plan on going down 1-2" farther each time to
: feather the overlap. Same with Varnish. Just want to avoid a
: strip on the outside.

Vic, what you describe is what I do.

Only be careful if you are cutting hatches first as the deck will be quite fragile with only the inside glassed while fitting it.

I usually cut my hatches after joining and after glassing outside as well, but then I usually use a sheer-plank for gluing inside, not tape, so I don't have the problem of getting into the ends.

I would suggest that two inches of overlap is more than you require - One to one and a half is more than enough.

Moving the tape down between fill coats to help with feathering works very well for me. See the picture.

Moving tape for varnishing is probably not necessary and you could end up trying to get tape glue off new varnish.

I prefer to varnish the entire boat by hanging it from the ends and varnishing deck and hull in one go.

Don't do too much second guessing. Your instincts have been pretty darned good up till now.

All the best

Etienne