What about as little as 1-2" addition to the boat's beam, but a wider cockpit?

Ed Valley built his 21" wide Expedition Single at the standard boat design size, but made the cockpit bigger to accept his 6'-4" frame and proportionally larger weight.

Keep in mind that most ladies have smaller upper bodies and really don't need the stability that a wider boat offers--their natural "volume" is carried in the "stern" more than with guys.

My cousin, who is about 6'-2", 300lbs, former lineman, was a bit too top-heavy for my Guillemot 18, but his "stern" fit the standard cockpit width just fine.

What if you just tell her the whole boat is much wider, but only make the cockpit wider? I'd think that making the boat 1-2" wider, but not 3"+ wider could help alleviate some of the tracking problems Addison referred to.

Shawn

: My spouse, scratch that, I know a person who wants a wider version of a
: Guillemot due to "imaginary excessive operator beam in the
: stern". I am sure the standard version is ok, but you know how wives,
: I mean people, can be. It's the old "I won't fit in that thing, it's
: got to be wider for me...". I plan on starting on boat #3 for this
: person and the whole project would be more acceptable if I built a wider
: version. Has anyone tried widening one to around 24"? I can scale
: everything up 10%, then keep the forms spaced for 17' and tear into it. I
: could expand all of the offset widths by 10% and keep the heights. O Great
: Crystal Ball of the Kayak BBS, Speak to me and impart knowledge (real or
: imaginary).

: Vernon