O.K, I'm Actually Building It

Incrementally and gradually, I got more used to the plans, after reading the manual and watching the video. I finally decided to go through with it. It was also helpful to find Etienne's webpage about building one of these, since he is  a builder who isn't afraid to deviate from a design.
Tracing forms from the originals is a pain, but I nevertheless did it, and a morning's work resulted in this apparatus:

As "everyone" says, Rob's instructions make more sense when you actually put your hands on the work. The half forms and the tapering remind me of the bow form of a Greenland kayak. I actually used hot-melt glue, and the 1/2" plywood called for. I'm glad that I used the plywood, because the plies help show tapering.