For lack of a better term. Like the body of a cabinet you're building; the structure is complete and ready to 'finish'. There's a lot of finish on this to go.

Still on the original plan; the template that I carefully scribed to the mating edge of the existing cockpit coamings/cabin back, is lowered from a snatch block on the ceiling, for marking-checking. I now have that exact shape on the seat/bridge deck on the carcass. The new well is the exact same size as the original and in the exact same orientation of the deck shape.

The longitudinal pine pieces(just inside the locker openings), are temporary for support, and will be removed upon installation. The outer sub deck plywood is scarfed joined. It's an odd build for me. It has to be held together differently in the construction. Once installed, most of the weight will be supported from the hull, below;and hung from the coamings, cabin back, and deck, above. For now, it needs to be strong enough to hold it's shape in the shop and to the boat, and hoisted.

All horizontal surfaces of the 3/4" marine plywood will be covered in Ipe decking and trim, including the sole. The well sides are fiberglassed and ready to paint(probably a soft grey like my cabintop).

I'm considering taking that template to the boat and wrestling it up into the cockpit,...considering,... just in case.

Compared to the existing(too worn out to save after 53 years), there are some differences. The old one was elegant and simple; solid teak plank top. But it leaked profusely in a rain(gallons into the bilge). The leaking was mostly because of rot and wear but much was due to the design of the drains. Plus you can just see two aft hatches which never stayed dry. Today, plugs are falling out because the surface has been worn thin by foot traffic and weather. Step onto the sole, the binnacle lurches a half inch due to the flex of the 3/4" teak decking(now worn down to 1/2+-") over the 1/2" plywood sole.

Biggest change is the new trapezoidal shape of the lockers. Now 6' shorter(due to stronger construction and decking asthetics), the shoulders are a few inches wider that will make it easy for me to step inside(you know why that matters). This design also eliminates a weak spot -the wide piece of deck outboard of the lockers - in the existing seat deck(I know all the soft spots, well). Now eliminating the aft seat locker lids, I'm installing a simple door in the aft well(well protected by 3" of deck above).

Your cockpit is like the entrance area on your house-the aesthetics are important to most people. I've been on a long search for decking details that will work for this new design, and I find appealing.

Here's a rough sketch on my latest notion of how to lay out the decking. I still have time to think about this as I build the cockpit locker scuppers and fit the plywood doors. The tricky area is outboard of the lockers. I have the curve of the coaming to deal with, scupper drain channel, hinges(I'm switching to butt hinges so that they can be fastened to the plywood substrate).

It's tempting to think I could finish to the template, caulk everything except the outer seam between the coaming/cabin, but I think I'll stick with my plan to leave the outer perimeter Ipe margin boards, fastened dry, for removal. They would each be scribed for an 1/8"-3/16" joint, epoxied and then the last joints caulked.