I built Nick's S&G (free offsets on his site) as a 15.5' - since most of my paddling is in small bodies of water and rivers I wanted more maneuverability and was willing to compromise tracking and high max speed. I have been pleasantly surprised in that I got the maneuverability I wanted in a boat that still tracks well and is quite fast. My wife (5'4") and I (6'1", 180lbs) both feel very comfortable paddling it.

The process for modifying the offsets is easy. Just figure your desired length as a % of the original length (example: 15.5 / 17.5 = 88.5%), then apply this % to the length-wise numbers on the table of offsets - Don't change the width of the panels. Mine came together with only minor difficulties.

: I'm looking for some plans that I can build an all-around sea-kayak play boat
: from. I have an Arctic Tern right now and love it, but I want to build a
: smaller boat to share with my wife and son, who are both smaller paddlers.

: I'm 6'1", but skinny (165#). My wife is 5'6" and my son is around
: 5'. They've both paddled the Tern with it's 23" beam and loved it,
: but thought it was too big for them. I'd like to fit in the new boat as
: well to try out when kayaking Elkhorn Slough narrows and other narrow
: waterways where the Tern's 17' is really a hinderance. It's more important
: that it work for them, though. My son is growing like a weed and will
: probably hit 6' within 4 years, so it can't be really tight.

: What do you think? Anyone got any suggestions? I was looking at the Cormorant
: 16 from Squeedunk. I've head good things about the Tern 14, but who knows
: how long it will take them to offer it in plan form, if ever (they still
: don't have the Tern 14 on their website!).

: Thanks for any help you can give...
: Mark