Chris,
I’ve been kicking around ways of streamlining the Walrus design for scout building. If you’re interested in going the way of the Walrus let me know and I’ll give you my 2 cents worth.

That said, 17 boats are a lot. To keep the interest from waning I’d go with a simple hard chine S&G. Three advantages of the S&G are a higher level of abuse durability, greater carrying capacity and very low maintenance (no mildew). The S&G will also travel better. SOF’s can get abrasion marks when being transported. I can imagine 17 boats stacked on a trailer tied down in a hodgepodge manner with a variety of knots. They’d best be made of wood. PLYWOOD.

For what its worth,

Roger

PS This may sound like a dumb question, but, what are the boats going to be used for. There are other boating alternatives for scouts.

PPS The picture below is of my SOF. Go 1-2 inches wider 2 feet shorter 1.5 inches deeper and maybe you've got something.