: You won't believe how similar the design of my deck is. What types
: of wood did you use? I've ordered all western red cedar and
: asked for light, medium, and dark strips. I'm having second
: thoughts on whether the light strips will contrast enough
: though.

Nice deck design you have there. Don't know about the wood you will receive, but it is possible to get good contrast with western red cedar if wood is carefully chosen and kept separate when ripping.

The boat in my earlier photo is my Guillemot S. The deck is 100% western red cedar: dark red, tan and blond lumber Chocolate brown can be found, but it's relatively rare. I hand-picked that lumber from decking timber (mostly 2"x8'', some 4"x4" posts, etc) at Home Depot and Lowes. More photos of that boat:
http://www.outdoorplace.org/paddling/GuillemotS/Guillemot-S1.htm

Recommend you see when you receive your wood whether there is enough contrast in color. Dampen the wood with a wet cloth to see the approximate color it will be under epoxy. Putting an accent strip between the main color changes will help define the booundries and hide gaps.

By the way, consider widening your cockpit recess in the back if you want it really to lower the level of the cockpit rim. Compare shape in photo below to your drawing. The shape in your drawing won't be very effective in lowering the cocpkit, but will provide good visual contrast.

John