As I suspected, it was a lot more work to get the hull interior smooth that it should have been. I started scraping & sanding away it it yesterday, and I ditched work, determined to finish. I resorted to putty fills in the dangerously-thin areas.
I decided to actually follow the instructions, and do the bow & stern areas first.
Its getting easier. Both ends took a little more than an hour, and it seemed less frustrating than the last time I glassed.
The glass in between the ends went down fairly well also. I gave it two fill coats, sanded & varnished. I decided to paint the areas that will be visible inside the hatches.
This shows how it will look when finished-a little more "stripey" than I expected.
Every Solution needs a Problem. I bought a small, waterproof GPS unit, and decided to try some geocaching.After the usual new-gizmo frustration, I managed to find a website & download a cache.
I found this after some more slightly comical learning-curve stuff.
It was well-packed. The trash bag was a nice idea. I didn't see any trash on the trail, so I took the bag to place in the next cache I visit.
Here is the rough opening of the cockpit. I was right when I thought that it was a steep drop from the foredeck to the aft-it still is, with the area in wood. I don't think I'll be able to raise the coaming the way I did on the Shearwater, with 1/4" plywood, I'm going to have to "Improvise".
Also, I had just enough wood left after fairing the area behind the cockpit. I didn't quite get the strips down to the level of form 10.5. I'm going to have to reinforce the area from the inside, and raise the height of the aft bulkhead a little.
Normally, this would be called "The Whiskey Plank", but I decided on "temperance" for two reasons: First, I had a stomach virus when I did it, and couldn't bear the thought of whiskey, and Second, there were so many, irregular, custom shaped boards in this build, that if I had a shot every time I put one in, I'd be in rehab now.
I can also see that I'm going to have to do a lot of corrective sanding & shaping. Oh well...
I was right in thinking that it was a heck of a drop from the extended front form to the rear deck. I couldn't really visualize it until I started working full-length strips on the sides.
I used the heat-bending technique, as for the stem & stern strips. I also offset the strips a little, like ship lap, to make it down to the deck. In future builds, I'll use the full 1/4" thickness for the strips, so I won't have to worry as much about running out of wood while fairing.
I can better see what has to happen now. I even resorted to a couple of screws to hold it down.
I also have committed to using the long cockpit opening. After weighing the Pros & Cons, I decided that I'd rather be comfortable than 100% aesthetic.
Its getting easier. Both ends took a little more than an hour, and it seemed less frustrating than the last time I glassed. 
