Hi Jim,
I'm looking forward to seeing the FE results from this. You might see ~15% overall, and maybe more in the winter; as the denser air has a greater drag. I'm also looking forward to seeing it painted...
Are you going to add trailing wheel strakes, similar to what you showed on the concept renderings, and what Darin tried on his (temporary) boattail? After you get it on and working, are you going to tuft test it? I'm particularly interested on the underside; and if I remember correctly, the wheels strakes helped Darin's?
I hope you don't mind if I post some of your pictures on my Facebook account? There are people there who I'm sure will be interested in both your construction methods, and in the aerodynamics.
It finally dawned on me the significance of this picture:
This is a really elegant solution to (at least) two issues: opening the hatch door, and making use of the stock "cyclops" brakelight. Very nice, indeed.