I'm planning on building a SOF boat and have looked at books/articles by George Putz, David Zimmerly and Robert Morris. It appears that there are two distinct styles of boat building: Putz vs. Zimmerly & Morris. Putz alludes to the reasons for this in his book, and for various reasons I will probably end up using the Zimmerly/Morris technique building from the gunwales up and down, but I do have some questions for which I'd appreciate any thoughts.

Zimmerly/Morris use lashings & pegs while Putz uses screws and glue for fastening. Zimmerly's article indicates that the lashings allow more flexibility. Do they offer comparable strength? Possibly the willow and oak thing?

Putz uses external keel and side rub strips. Looks like a nice idea, but something seems scary about screwing through your skin after you went to all the trouble to get it watertight. Does this make the boat leak, or does it seal pretty well with the screw pressure?

Putz skins the bottom and top separately, while the others are skinned with one big piece. Any particular reason?

The Zimmerly boat from a recent Sea Kayaker is flat bottomed. How does this type of boat paddle compared to a v bottom hull? More initial stability, slower? I'm thinking of shrinking this boat down to 18 feet which gives it a 21 inch beam. Should still float, huh, or will I be paddling upside down the whole time?

Putz makes his cockpit part of the frame, while the Zimmerly boat cockpit is almost free-floating on the canvas with only a few frame attachment points. Is that still pretty secure?

The Putz and Morris designs I saw use stem pieces, whereas the Zimmerly boat brings the keel and stringers all the way to the stem. Any advantages one way or the other? I'm guessing the latter is a bit simpler. I first thought the stem pieces would be sturdier, but the attachment points with the keelson and stringers could be a weak point.

Does anyone make these boats with bulkheads and hatches? Seems like you'd have to tie ropes to everything you stuffed into the bow or stern to get it out again.

Maybe I'm overthinking this. My guess is all of these boats work! I'm probably going to adapt from both styles.

Thanks in advance.