> I have been pondering about building the Mill Creek 13 for the same
> reasons you have listed. It seems that the 15 being a smaller beam (27
> inches) would be a little less stable than the Mill Creek 13's 29 inch
> beam. I would like to visit with someone that has a Mill Creek 13 and ask
> some of the following questions: 1. Do you tend to bang up you knuckles
> when paddling? 2. With the flat bottom, does it tend to lean to one side
> and then the other? In other words, do you have to concentrate on
> balancing it? 3. If you have used fiberglass cloth inside and out on both
> the top and the bottom, with at least a couple of coats of epoxy, does it
> still way less than 40 pounds? 4. Has anyone built one with the cheaper
> Luan? What effect does that have on the overall weight? Any information
> that would be helpful will be appreciated. Thanks, Jerry Brown

Jerry, I am willing to give up a little bit of stability for extra speed and carrying capacity. The initial stability of the flat bottom should be greater than that of a V bottom of the same width.

I have finished two boats in the last year, one with okoume and one with lauan. There is no contest. The lauan is heavier, will have voids which are a real pain and the back side is going to have patches or flaws. The price difference between the two really isn't that much considering the cost of everything else.

Interesting question about knuckle busting. I suppose the high coaming could cause some problems, particularly with the wider MC 13.

Thanks for your reply,

Chris Luneski