Hi Erez,

I built the Chesapeake 17. It handles beautifully...and its performance is all the designer said it would be. I am very happy with it.

After looking at Nick Schade's, Eric Schade's, and Joe Greenley's boat pages, I can see that artistically, there is no match for a strip-built boat. My S&G is good looking, but their boats are downright drop-dead gorgeous. I wish I had tried to build a boat that looks that good.

I will probably build a strip kayak in the near future, just so I can _really_ stop traffic at the launch site.

As far as the Chesapeake, I believe they estimate 80-100 hours, and I took somewhere between 110-125...that is not a Bad Thing..boatbuilding is very enjoyable, so getting a boat done quick, or in the prescribed time period is not a real big issue.

The Chesapeake will definitely hold more gear than I'll ever take, handles great in waves, and is a pretty swift boat all 'round. If I built it again, I'd s&g the hull and put a wood-strip deck on it.

Shawn Baker

> I made up my mind to get a wooden kayak, all that's left for ne to do is
> choose one. I went over some reports in few websites, but all I found are
> people that describe how wonderful is the kayak they built. is there
> anybody that is willing to say: "I built this kayak, it took me 40
> hours more than the manufacturer estimation, I tested it, it does what
> it's supposed to do but it's not as manuverable/beautiful/fast as I
> thought it would be" or anyhting similar ?...

> i'm looking for a s&g kayak that will be able to carry 2 weeks of supply
> (when I get that many days off from work, but we all know that I never
> will) & also be light enough for a weekend paddle. so any reports on
> such kayaks will immediately get my sincere appretiation.

> I'm 152 lb & 6ft 1in & a good size cocpit is a must for my long
> legs. beam width 21-23in .

> thx

> erez segev