> One other consideration you might want to note. If you follow the older
> threads in this bulletin board you will see a lot of discussions about
> cracks forming decks of CLC boats. There is also a lot of discussion about
> how to avoid this. I have not built a CLC but I suspect that it is because
> builders compromising the thickness of the deck material in favor of
> bending the camber easily.

I am one of the people who had cracks in the deck of my Chesapeake. I used lauan doorskin plywood on the deck for economy, not camber. I cracked the deck with an agressive "knee-drive" while rolling. It was easy enough to glass over these areas, and I've had no further problems to date.

> I am building a Pygmy Osprey and have a Coho waiting. The one comment I
> can make is the desks on these boats are very strong. Further you can add
> more strength of you wish by more aggressive use of fiber glass and epoxy,
> or deck plates to the underside of the deck. This is not as easy to do on
> a CLC cambered deck.

Don't be fooled by either manufacturer's advertising literature! They both make good boats, and "the other's" boats aren't inherently weak. The strength of the boat is 90% due to the skill of the builder (and choice of materials) and probably only 10% due to design. You can add extra glass and epoxy to either boat line to make a boat stronger.

I haven't paddled a Pygmy yet, but I look forward to doing so this summer. I probably won't ever build another s&g kayak, because I want to try my hand at stripping a boat. The stitch & glue technique is older than both manufacturers, and neither can claim that they came up with some "great new process" for building boats that is much better than anyone else's.

Build the boat you like (and like the look of) best and enjoy paddling it!

Shawn