Hi Vince, I'm also new to boat designing and building and found this thread very interesting! I've been toying with some ideas in my mind for some time, and looking at various designs found around the internet. I started to get my tears wet when discovering the "Babyface Nelson", and then I found the "Alpha Z", wich really took my breath away. Very different boats in deed, but man are they beauties...
I'd like to quote Corky Bell; "Don't be afraid to copy, just make soure you are copying the best". I think this is a very good way to start any design process, no matter what you are making. I'm not telling anyone to rip off somone elses design entirely, but look thorougly trough other boats that are of similar size and purpose as yours. Pay attention to the differences between the cheaper/sipler design vs. the proven performers.
I strongly belive that this will keep one out of very many fall mines, and give one a very good head start.
As to the variable deadrise forward; there is a connection (in lack of better word) between keel line, and chine line and the deadrise. You cannot change one without altering one or both of the others. I found a couple of boats that have the performace I'm after, and used as guiding for my drawings - making lines that appeal to my eyes, and resembeles those that are proven to work.
Any chance we could be let in on a updated with pictures of your project? Or have they becomed classified industrial secrets by now?
Also, and this is what interest me in particular: How are your somone going to build you boat? In respects of maretials, thiknesses etc? Is it going to be stripplanked and then epoxyglassed inside out and skinned with mahogany? Or just stripplanked with mahog. directly? Thiknesses of layers? Frames? Stinges?