Well, I built it, and took it for a test ride, and I'm very happy with how it worked.
The boat sits at least an inch higher at the stern, the scuppers(which I moved outboard) are completely out of the water.
The boat jumps on plane with very little bow rise, and the motor is not getting the fire hose treatment as before. On plane, the bucket is about 2 inches out of the water, and there seems to be no effect to how the boat takes tight turns.
The bucket is constructed of 2 layers of heavy mat, and a layer of heavy biaxial cloth I found at Boathouse. Corners and attachment edges are beefed up. I used about 3 gallons of polyester resin. The nominal thickness is about 5/16", it seems very strong, and weighs 37 lbs. The cost for materials and supplies was just over $400.
The cosmetics are not perfect, but I did some fairing and used high build primer to smooth it out. I rolled on Interlux Brightside Polyurethane paint, there are many runs, which I'll deal with later.
Now that I know it works, I'll permanently attach it with 5200 and 12 3/8" thru-bolts. I cut two 5" inpection hatches on the swimplatform to access the inside of the bucket. Also, I'm adding Rabuds to the scuppers drains I moved outboard on the transom. Next, I'll remove the lead I have in the forward hatch which I have been using for ballast.
It will be available for inspection at Long Point.
Lloyd