First, Thanks for the warm welcome to the forum!  It means a great deal being the neophyte amongst seasoned veterans!  I have lurked on this forum for a little while now but can't seems to find the answer to my noobie question.

I have dabbled in different platforms, becoming relatively proficient in a few, but I am new to SolidWorks.  I am in the fiberglass business, and am building a few parts.  In the past, I have simply drawn what I want on graph paper, handed it to the carpenter (or myself) and said "build a plug". This produced good results, but required many hours of tweaking...I wanted to fix that.  Hence the reason I'm here! 

Please bare with me if I sound ignorant, I'm learning. 

The Question:

1. If ya'll where to begin from scratch modeling a spa or boat deck, would you do it with surfaces or a solid model?

2. How would you begin the processes?  Top down and extrude, make the cavity then use sketch/planes to make seating, steps, etc? 

This model will be used to build a plug -> tool -> production part. 

I've searched for ideas and tutorials on this sight, Lynda, and google, but to no avail with my specific question. 

Thanks in advance for ya'lls help, and sorry for the stupid questions! 

Nic