Brown Owl:

I think it is a temptation when playing with building your own boat to start to reinvent the wheel.
Perhaps because a lot of us have not had such a chance make something of our own like a boat before that we want to make something unique and different.
I ended up regretting most of any of the departures from the plans of the Elementarry.
It's possible i didn't understand why it was the way it was in the plans and had to make the mistakes first. Amatuer builders should probably be treated like they are not experienced or too smart. Better to underestimate their abilities. So when they want to keep changing things and customizing it the way they want, it would be best for their own sake to disagree. However the customer is paying the bills.
If i did another HP, i would try to keep as close as possible to original plans.
Or otherwise you may likely end up with a true "backyard boat".

But half the fun is doing your own designs.
So i don't know how you can get rid of the creative desires.

Doug