: 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.

Angela,
very nice looking boat! Hope you have fun with it. I'm having a great time with mine. I finished an 18' last year and love it. I actually just came back from Rowayton, beautiful early evening paddle. maybe I'll get to see your boat in June, at the Groton get together. Take care.
Jim

: 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