: . . . Many of you suggested double
: paddle canoes ( decked or open). While this gives me a bit more freeboard
: than I'd like on windy days, it is a very interesting option that has my
: attention.

In the local dialect (Chicagoese) the folks around the tool shed say: "When buying a boat ya get whatever freeboard the builder gives ya. When building a boat ya get whatever freeboard ya want."

If you are lworking with double paddle canoe plan it is a very simple procedure to hack off the top 2 or three inches of the plans. Lower the gunwale to where ever you want it. If you prefer to keep the plans intact, for future use, with a stripper just put on a couple of dummy strips (with no glue) as spacers starting at the planned gunwale line, and start your boat at the 3rd or 4th strip. With a stitch and glue boat you can cut down the panels for the sides of the boat before wiring them together.

Heck, if you are REALLY adventurous you can put the gunwale below the waterline. If you keep the cockpit opening high enough above the waves you probably won't have to swim much.

Once you have the hull built to those new lines you just build a deck from plywood wrapped over deckbeams, or make a stripped deck from strips laid over forms that resemble deckbeams.

PGJ