After looking through all of the thousands of posts, i found Blue Heron's boat which has a modification on the bow. Below are a few pics from his album and I am curious as to other builder's comments in reference to his modfication, pro and con. What I like is that it provides covered storage for gear, incorporates the mast into the unit, so it looks more 'complete' and allowed him to ad a cleat to the bow section.  What say you?