Lots of great ideas! Two schools of decoy design...flat or round bottoms. I made mostly the latter and tried to duplicate factory Masons. They are much lighter and smaller so more per bag and no sharp edges; some say their flashier rolling action can be a plus. But many great hunters and carvers like the flat bottoms with generous wood keel, striving for stability. I made some flat bottom Buffleheads with scrap freezer cork. A dowel through the basswood head and into the pine bottom makes them very strong.