Hi there.

Sarcastic is as sarcastic does, and I don't see any mocking ridicule in your comments. You want to make yourself a nice little boat, and you've got some serious questions to ask. A little humor along the way can't hurt, and I, for one, got a chuckle out of it because I saw myself in your comments.

My fiberglas boat is almost two years old now, and I've mostly had a pretty good time with it. I'm just now putting the final touches on my first kit boat, and now my old boat looks like a bathtub even though it never actually let me down, ever. Now I'm getting myself all excited about building #2.

I personally don't recollect if ALL of your candidates have been mentioned in the year or so I've been lurking, but I don't remember any cases where any of them were critcized as being inherently flawed. YOUR efforts will determine the quality of the assembled craft at least as much as the inherent quality of the raw materials, which I propose are roughly equivalent between the kits.

So, for my two cents' worth, the important part here has to do with you taking the step to decide rather than dither for months like I did. You won't find the answer to the question, "Which boat for me?" here, because you make that decision, not us.

Ted Olinger gets downright metaphysical in the current issue of "Canoe & Kayak" magazine. "The Secret Language of Kayaks"? Well, I don't know about that. I'm not even sure we can use terms like 'reasonable' and 'sensible' in the same breath as 'kayak building.' For now, I prefer bastardizing the old Marine's oath to their weapon:

This kayak is mine. There are many like it, but this one is mine ... .

My apologies to the Corps.

So go ahead and put your money down, lad; the sooner you do, the sooner you'll find how easy it is to sand your fingertips until they bleed. Obsession: It's a good thing.