The amount of material "lost" when cutting strips and doing the cove and beading is minimal. What is gained is the ability to accurately build to the female frame. You can minimize waste and speed the build process by cutting strips in different widths dependent on the hull curves. I had three different widths on the LR2 and two widths on the LR3. I would be very hesitant to use flat sheet darting due to the compound curves in the hull shape.