Taming a wild rabbet

"...the back is rebated into the sides, top, and bottom. To rebate means to take away... But the workmen who do not trouble their heads to think why a word is used, call this joint a rabbit, though certainly it is not much like the four footed animal of the same name. the word is written rebate, rebating; but it is generally read rabbit, rabbiting."
From The Joiner and Cabinet Maker 1839

Every clinker boatbuilder needs a rebate plane.
Just owning one clearly isnt going to cut it. It seems skill is involved and thats a little thin on the bench in my shed.
To persuade the ends of each plank to meet the stem evenly and tightly (to keep the water out) a short rebate (or rabbet if youre American or spend too much time online rather than in the boat shed) must be cut in each plank so that they can overlap but lie flat. A similar thing has to be done to let the planks land on the transom without gaps. The process can be seen on the IYRS blog. The chap planing the "gain" is using a shoulder plane which cant be making his life easy.
Some people are astonishingly good at cutting rebates.
Matt Bickford is a plane maker extraordinaire and can do this without fences, guides or self-doubt:

I dont have a rebate plane yet and since its high on John Leathers list of tools its time to go shopping. These are competing for my attention:
Chris Schwarz rates the Lee Valley metal rebate plane very highly. I love my Veritas block plane and not just because my wife gave it to me for my birthday. It replaced a cheap Axminster plane that was all I knew. No amount of fettling could bring the Axminster up to the level of the Veritas and my wife must now take responsibility for my expensive tool habit.

My heart draws me towards Phil Edwards beautiful wooden moving fillister plane. Schwarz used to like this one until he bought the Veritas. Edwards makes these by hand in Devon and Id like him to keep on doing so. The Veritas is adjusted with precision made screws. The Philly plane is adjusted by me and a small hammer!

Matt Bickford also makes a wooden rebate plane which defines the term "old school". I could splash out on this or try to pick up a similar old plane from a second hand tool dealer. Most of my metal planes are "vintage" and work very well but Im a little concerned about buying a block of wood thats 150 years old and expecting it to cut straight.

The German manufacturer ECE makes an updated version of this style of plane. The 710-P has a lignum vitae sole, a chip breaker and fine adjustment that doesnt involve a hammer. The mouth is adjustable but from the pictures this might be hard to believe.
It might seem like Im comparing apples with oranges here. Two of these planes have skewed blades which will pull them against their substantial fences. Two have neither a skewed blade nor a fence. This is quite significant. At the plank ends of a clinker boat the rebate can roll. Were not building right angle furniture here. I dont know how easy it is roll a rebate to an angle with a fence and a skewed blade. It might be sensible to get the most basic plane with a straight blade and no fence and then practise, practise, practise.
Price isnt really a consideration. The Philly plane and the Veritas are similar. Whilst the Bickford is less complex and therefore cheaper Id have to buy it in from the states and after customs have had their pound of flesh it would be comparable. The cheapest is the ECE. Oddly thats putting me off. Can it be such good quality? Perhaps, its made in a factory rather than by hand and is less complex than the Veritas.
Sadly I have no way to try any of these planes! Ill just have to buy one and develop some skill.