Shawn, I enjoyed your webpage.

How is it kayaking with "The Shadow" in a small cockpit? My dog isa about the same size, and I intend to take him kayaking.

It'd be helpful if the start of your page gave a who's who. I guess you and Dan are brothers?

> I'd stay away from luan doorskins for the kayak hull. I built
> my Chesapeake 17's hull from okuome marine ply and used luan doorskins
> for my deck. The doorskins look great, and maybe save me a little
> weight, but they are _not_ very strong. I had problems cracking my
> deck above my knees when rolling, so I would strongly advise against
> using doorskins for the hull, especially when it is your "life
> preserver"! I 'glassed over the knee brace areas and solved my
> cracking problem, but if I were to use doorskins for the hull, I'd
> 'glass both inside and outside, and the cost savings wouldn't be so
> significant.

> I probably sound a lot like the guys at CLC with this advice;
> I used to feel alot the same way you feel about the price of marine
> okuome. I'm really glad I used the okuome for my hull. It is very
> strong--you can take a 1" wide strip of the 4mm stuff and bend
> it back on itself and it won't break. You can bend the same strip
> of doorskin less than 45 or 50 degrees and it will crack.

> You can shop around for glass and epoxy, maybe use luan for your
> (less critical) deck, and buy paint brushes on sale and keep your
> costs pretty low. All told, I only had $450 into my entire boat, which
> is still a lot cheaper than the $650 for a CLC kit, and WAY cheaper
> than buying a commercial boat.

> email me if I can help you further

> Good Luck!

> Shawn