That's one of the frustrations...and, frankly, joys of a project like this. At least for someone with an attention deficit order like me. (Who says it's a disorder?) The single greatest pleasure I get from this restoration effort is the chance to learn new things. In fact, if nothing else came of it (the boat plummets to the depths upon launch), it still will have been worth the trouble just because learning new stuff is so stimulating.
And one stuff I have learned is how to make and install planks. Will I ever make and install planks again? Who knows! Who cares! It was fun teaching myself how to do it...and watching myself get better and better at it as I went along--momentary setbacks notwithstanding.
Speaking of setbacks, the Big Redo is coming along nicely. Here's a photo of where things stand now:
I'm pleased. I haven't epoxied any of the strakes in place yet, but the fit between them is getting tighter and tighter. The pieces should blend together nicely once they are all sanded.
In fact, the photo above is a good illustration of the impact of oxygen on wood. The mahogany planks were all cut from the same few boards. The difference between them has everything to do with how recently each one has been sanded or milled. The darkest one is from the top of a board and hasn't been sanded at all. The lighter ones have been sanded more recently. Some also may have had more oxygen exposure than others depending on where they sat in the pile.
This is a reason why it can be super important to apply finish coats to wood shortly after sanding. Even 24 hours of oxygen exposure can make a noticeable difference in the appearance of the wood. A finish will also adhere better to freshly sanded wood. See...the stuff you can learn is limitless!
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