On the contetious subject of curved fore decks versus flat (or close to flat) it is important to remember that the curved deck with the same diameter as the distance across the flat will have an appreciable greater surface area. We conducted practical testing on just this subject during a feasability study for a "little America's Cup Challenge" in the early 70's and our findings were that an almost flat fore deck shed water more efficiently than an eliptical deck for the same bow profile, BUt the difference was moderate to the point that other considerations would far outweigh any prefference for flat or curved. It really is a non arguable point for or against!