: Hi I'm about to emabark upon my first kayak-building project. I have a bit of
: experience with the sport and did a 30 day tour down the AK. panhandle 3
: years ago. I'm going to attempt to build the Guillemmot Fast Double but am
: a bit concerned about the craft's overall length. Is there any
: conventional wisdom out there on knocking off 3 feet of the design and
: shortening it up? I have the Guillemot book on Kayak building with it's
: chapter on customizing the length of a boat but am wondering if such a
: modification would effect the boats tracking, or would necessitate a
: reconfiguration of the cockpits for weight and balance. Thanks for any
: help.
: David.

Shortening the boat by that much may cause some trouble with carrying capacity. The fast double is already fairly narrow for a double kayak. You don't want to shorten it only to find out you and your partner will sink the boat or that you can't pack much or something else.

I would email Nick directly about its carrying capacity and your design thoughts. What is the weight (you plus partner plus gear) that it may have to hold?

What exactly about the length are you worried about? Building space, storage space, just too much boat, etc??

The shortening of the boat by that much may also cause the cockpits to be too close in terms of footroom and also paddling room.

Pete czerpak
albany, NY