While there are still a couple of coats of varnish to be put on the boat and the coaming, and the coaming itself needs to be attached to the kayak,....I just could not stand it any longer. I put it in the water and paddled. After adjusting some seat problems (throwing out the seat I had purchased and using one of my gel seat pads), it was a joy to paddle. Conditions presented 15-20 mph winds today which did not seem to to bother handling at all. The Merganser is quite fast and effortless to paddle. The final weight came in at 27 pounds (add two coats of varnish to that...haha). It's easy to shoulder and carry around...quite well balanced too.

Looking forward to final touches this week, and a whole paddle season. Thanks everyone, for the great advice...I'm sure this won't be the last project.

Angela