>Seems to be working on this stuff as at about 2 am I figured out how to get the Boost C++ libraries to compile for Win 64 bit and now my OpenFAST project links and compiles in anticipation of my first session with my mentor tonight.
>

That has always been my biggest frustration with C or C++ - getting (redacted) to compile. The code can be perfect but you still receive 10,000 errors during compile because of some compiler switch. The build process can be as complex as the app. itself. It wouldn't be as bad if this were the same between compilers but it's not so you're back to trying to interpret someone else's make file, or build process and figuring out how to translate that into what you're currently doing.

I did find Boost to actually be pretty good in that respect - the docs do a decent job explaining how to build and integrate their library.