: 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

I just finished building a CLC Chessie 14 for my daughter. It has a 21" beam. I'll be building another one this winter for my wife (she's 5'4 and 110 lbs) so it will be fine for her as well.

I'm 5' 10" and 150 lbs.I and I can fit in it, but it sits lower in the water. It might be too small for you.

The only problem with the Chessie 14 that I can see is that it would fit your wife just fine, and your son will fit for now, but will soon grow out of it.

Of course, it seems that no one builds just one boat, so that may not really be a problem. How about building one smaller boat for now, and in a few years, if your son is still interested, build him a larger one?