I am wrapping up the hull planking and am happy with my final side. I was able to plank the entire side with only two stealers and these were required at the stern. I hope I don’t forget the little tricks I learned here and there. I did sand the hull smooth, but sanded through in a few places and I have not decided whether I should attempt a repair or not. The area around the repair will probably get damaged while I am effecting the repair of a strake and I don’t want it to end up worse.
I am also trying to decide whether I should stain the stem/keel/stern members a darker walnut to match the hull planking.
Oh, and one MAJOR lesson learned. Don’t use water to wipe off the saw dust on the hull when using this very thin veneer planking. Even a little water will soften the PVA glue and the planks will lift and warp. The glassy parts that you see on the hull are areas that I applied more glue in an attempt to reattach/flatten planks that lifted after a cursory wipe with a wet rag. Ughh.
I also am getting much better at wielding the exacto knife. the first couple of gun ports I cut out from the gunnels were real hack jobs, but the last ones I cut were very precise and square (I used a square and a reverse tooth fret saw to good effect).