Bruce, I've paddled both and built one. My 2 cents -COHO As far as the concern over building a boat that you would tire of in a few months. You could still have that option but the kayak would have nothing to do with it. I could see making the standard pygmy/osprey if I wanted a boat for higher winds and had a short garage....splitting lots of hairs. The greater manueverability of the coho will help you to learn steering. Once again it's your willingness to learn and explore more than this amount of primary,that amount of weathercocking,etc. Whatever boat you make , make sure to fit it out well and be willing to tip over a lot.