> After six weeks of building a Queen Charlotte 17, I launched
> it with my buddies from the Southern California Kayak Builders Club,
> Jim Gabriel and Rick Rubio. What a kayak! I can't imagine a better
> designed hull. It is stable yet easy to put up on an edge. It is reasonably
> fast and tracts great, yet it carves sharpe turns on an edge. Despite
> the wide and flat deck, which looks like an aircraft carrier, it rolls
> easy, because once the boat is just over halfway upright, the flared
> sides make the boat slide right under me. Extreme bracing is no problem
> either. The boat loves chop, and despite the huge bow, I haven't experienced
> any weather cocking yet. The hull is so well designed that it doesn't
> need a rudder or even a skeg. It's a great all around kayak and workhorse,
> and it weighs only 38 pounds. My hat goes off to the designer, John
> Lockwood.