> Straight is not generally stronger than curved. Just to clarify,
> it's the different building techniques that also play a role. The
> chines wil act like creases in a piece of paper, adding stiffnes,
> but an egg is very tough for its thickness and skin material.

You're right. I just stated that in general, hard-chined boats will need less glass because fewer joints in the plywood will mean more strength. Marine plywood by itself is much stronger than a joint between two pieces. Epoxy is much more rigid than marine ply and is more brittle. I was only talking about Stitch & Glue only. Yes, the chines add stiffness, but they need the glass to support them to give that stiffness. Too bad we can't build boats from eggshell-like materials. (Of course there is a significant difference in scale between eggs and boats!)