With a Cape Charles 19, I find that the limitation is being able to turn the boat around in the width of a creek. It's manuverable enough, with leaned turns and sweep strokes. I've poked around some pretty small places with no problem.

: As a midwesterner myself, I have the same potential range of uses. The
: problem with your situation is that your two intended uses conflict
: (probably). If you're talking about rivers like Sugar Creek in the
: Shades/Turkey Run area you will need a maneuverable kayak (at the expense
: of tracking). If you are doing serious paddling in the great lakes, you
: will want one that tracks like a train. If your river use is more like the
: Wabash or larger rivers, the Chesapeake 17 would probably meet both
: demands fairly well. I do not think it would give you enough
: maneuverability on smaller, shallow streams/rivers.

: I built Nick's Guilemot stich & glue and shortened it to around
: 15'6" for river use. If I ever get the time and kahunas for open
: water in the great lakes, I'll have to build another boat (not altogether
: a bad thing). Maybe the addition of a retractible skeg could give me the
: tracking I'd need, but I have no experience there.