I love the deck!.. I have a '59 Jet and am thinking of the same thing...I have a couple of questions for ya if you are so kind

...Do they sell tongue and groove any thinner than 5/8?...I was gonna put pink foam underneath and that should give it some support...I know they use 1/4 inch plywood so how thin could I go? I am concerned about weight....also does all this wood add a lot of weight?........I love the wood look and you really got me thinking..... Thanks for any replies
I have not seen it any thinner, but it would be no trick to run it through a surface planer. If you do that just be sure to make equal passes on both sides. But be careful thinning cedar because it is soft to begin with, and isn't noted for strength in thin sections. The total weight of the deck boards in my boat is just under 35 lbs. That includes the aluminum angle (1.25 x .375) that is under the aft removable section. That section is also the only part that is glued together into a single unit. I think the most important thing is to have fun with it.
Wow, Piece715, that looks really nice! What are the angled metal pieces in the last picture? Perchance that is the forepeak rather than the splashwell? If I had another foot of beam I probably would have tried for more of a flush deck forward, but I was concerned about raising the center of gravity.
Yesterday I took the yacht to the Johnson doctor (WNC Marine in Waynesville). He said he doubted that the problem was serious, and I sure hope he's right. I think I'm going to let him change the impeller while he has it. The book says do it not more than every three years. When I dropped the lower unit the bolts were corroded enough that I doubt it had been removed for a decade or more. I blew out the holes, hosed them down with WD-40, and ran a tap through them. If I'm not mistaken ( but that's common :redface: ) the impeller vanes on that motor are supposed to stick straight out and have rounded ends. Mine have a very definite set to them, and I didn't notice the ends. Anyway, a water pump overhaul is going to be cheap insurance.
I have the wooden windshield frame half done. I don't recall ever building anything with so many compound angles and curves. I'd love to get on with it, but it will have to wait till I get her back from the boat hospital because the only way I could see to get it right was to lay it out on the fore deck, and fit each piece precisely. I'm reluctant to just mirror the side that's done because I would be shocked if the other side is a true mirror. Much more likely it is going to be like the human face: slightly asymmetrical.