Hey Becky, you're getting there. +1 what Cliff said; I also enjoy your story telling.
(I know I have said that before, but it bears repeating.)
Re: the outer skin being harder than expected to form. I wonder if by breaking the panel into two sections you robbed yourself of the leverage that the longer panel could have afforded (?). It looks good in the photo. Did you have any trouble keeping the curve fair at the joint between panels? In order to improve the yield from my ply skins I sized several of my panels to start at tangent points between flat and curved, and I have curved sections consisting of more than one panel, so I'm curious as to weither that was a problem or not (of course mine is going to be covered with foam, so not such a big deal).
Oldragbaggers wrote:I wish my skills were such that I didn’t make these mistakes in the first place. Or maybe if I had more woodworking experience I would have seen a simpler more effective solution.
Your fiberglass built up edges appear to be working out fine for you. Stick to what you know and you can't go wrong! Though, I am a little surprised that you didn't glue down a small strip of wood and then encapsulate that in epoxy; cheaper and lighter than all glass and may have taken less work to build up. I know, "now you tell me", doh. Maybe you didn't have a good way to rip small strips of wood? No matter, you've got it licked now.
I'm hearing the mantra of a perfectionist. This is the attitude that has produced such a well crafted product. Embrace it. We are our own worst critics and we see all of our own little flaws up close. Some things are unacceptable to ourselves as builders and MUST be amended, some things we let skate by as "good enough" if they won't be too obvious, and other things we get just right and couldn't be happier with our own handy work. look at the big picture. Look at what you have done. Be resolved that nothing is ever perfect no matter the skill level or experience. It is a fleeting notion.
There is good, and there is better. Your TD is better.
Keep on keepin' on!