I finally launched my Guillemot 18 on Friday!

It is a great design--thanks Nick!

I didn't have time to fully outfit it with seat, hip pads, and thigh braces, as I wanted to launch it at my family reunion and lost patience! It was easy enough to roll even without the thigh braces, and I'm really going to enjoy it with them.

I ended up putting in a slightly longer cockpit than Nick designed, so I can get my long legs in with a butt-first entry. I didn't, however, make the cockpit recess larger first, so the coaming sits up a bit high. I also neglected to make the aft cockpit recess deeper to accommodate my higher deck in that area, so the aft coaming is a bit high. Luckily, I'm long in the torso, too, so laybacks still aren't bad. This will definitely not be a small-person's boat, however!

On Saturday morning, I was fortunate to wake up and find 2.5' waves lapping up the beach, so I went out and was astonished that I was able to surf them! (Thanks Nick!) It was something I'd only ever experienced in the Chesapeake once, and on 4' boat wakes. The boat sprinted down the shallow face, and didn't seem to have any overwhelming tendencies to broach. When it would broach slightly, it was easy enough to turn back onto the fall line with a single small sweep stroke. I had originally been worried that I would take too much of the "playfulness" away from Nick's already excellent design by stretching it a foot, but it still really maneuvers well. You can really do a mean leaned turn in it, as well. The Guillemot edges like a machine! I was able to do a 180* with a lean and 2 sweep strokes and maybe a 15' radius. The Chesapeake required a heavier lean, 4-5 sweeps, and a 20-25' radius.

My brother and I raced out and back after the waves died down. The G18 waterline length is about the same as my old Chesapeake, so I had a hard time pulling away from my brother in the Chesapeake at top speed, but I was paddling with a lot less effort, I'm sure due to the decreased beam and lower wetted surface. He got tired halfway back to shore, and I was still going.

Paddling out into the waves, the bow sliced nicely through the crests, and didn't pound when it dropped back into the troughs--definitely a smooth ride! The Chesapeake always felt sluggish, and felt like the waves were pushing me backwards, but the Guillemot's hull just danced over them.

All-in-all, I think I'm going to be glad I added that foot, as it will make up for the cargo space I'd have lost to legroom. Also, the increased height in the deck near the cockpit didn't seem to affect weathering (the wind didn't budge the boat!). I'm glad I stayed with the original width, though, as it will keep the initial stability down. When my brother and I were parallel to the waves, he rocked and rolled with each passing wave. I bobbed up and down, and didn't feel the boat heel at all. (I'm sure it did, but it was barely perceptible). I'm in for some serious rolling next week with the seat and thigh braces!

That hull shape really feels great at 18'. If my experience with the Guillemot stretched to 18' is any indication, I think Nick's new Guillemot L will be really popular with the big guys, especially if they're not so concerned with rollability. My cousin, who is 6'-2"/300#, paddled it and found it pretty tender. He's a former college football player and 200# is in his upper body. He um, swam. I think the L would have felt better to him. His brother, who hadn't paddled before either, is only 6'/210#, and took to it like a duck to water and was doing leaned turns after an hour of paddling.

Thank you Nick for writing such a great book and for the great design! You are a master kayak architect!

Okay, I'm babbling, so I'll sign off now!

Shawn