Yo Richard d

I am building my first boat, Nicks Guillemot S&G. It is a barrell of fun and coming together nicely. It looks like a rocket and fits real nice. I just hope it doesn't spit me into the water when I first try it in about a fortnights time.

A good start is to buy Nicks book, maybe the patterns and get some ply and epoxy together and just do it.

In my case I had built a dinghy and a yacht so I had heaps of confidence but little experience with fundamentals like wetting out cloth. The Guillemot S&G is a cheap and not that challenging primer so you could then make a pretty good go of your second kayak - a stripper (which is what you really wanted in the first place).

Kits, in American dollars seem very competitively priced and have the advantage of having all the bits and pieces ready to go. That can save you a surprising amount of time. I believe that buying a kit would certainly speed you on the way to a successfull and stress free start and has to be good value for a first timer.

I would be tempted by a pygmy kit if the exchange rate and shipping fees didn't kill it for me here in New Zealand.

Good luck, you won't regret the challenge and before long you will be addicted like the rest of the denizens of this BB.

PS Surfing the BB constantly is an education in itself.

Cheers Pete