Congratulations Scott! The boat's a beaut! Enjoy many miles of fine paddling.

My paddling buddy is self-confessed tool-illiterate. He's currently paddling a plastic pig, and is considering buying a second boat for guests' use. This weekend I told him that it was possible for anybody without prior building experience to build a wood boat. He said, 'Yeah, right!'

Your experience proves that it CAN be done, and done well at that!

And hey, stop lurking--start posting! You've got a boat under your belt, and you have just as much experience as the rest of us! Heck, I post a lot (too much, my wife would say) and I only have one completed boat to my name. Of course, I hope to be able to say 2 completed boats by the end of this week.

Happy paddling and building! Shawn

Oh, and as for your next boat, stripper or skin on frame--take your pick, and then build the other for your third boat. Then for your fourth.... ;) Shawn

: I'm a confirmed lurker, but thought a thank you to all on this board who help
: all us closet builders by posting their pearls of wisdom, freely given to
: those of us who might feel less than adequate when it comes to discussing
: kayak building. When I was growing up "tool" was a bad four
: letter word. My family is amazed that someone from our tool disfunctional
: family made something that actually works! I have now put the kayak back
: in the shop for finishing work. I did have to try it out before cutting
: the hatch holes and starting the sanding /painting /varnishing routine.
: The boat handled great (did over 10 miles that day). I made alot of
: mistakes on this project, but always found someone else did the same
: mistake and the help given to those others helped me.(and others I'm
: sure). Thanks again to all of you, reading this news group is now a daily
: habit I wish to keep. Now the next project...stripper or skin and
: frame...????

: ScottH.