Unfortunately trying out the boats is not a very likely option. Coming from La Crosse WI on the Mississippi River, I don't think I could talk my wife into a trip to Maine to try out a kayak, (although it sounds like a good idea to me and we did spend our honeymoon on Mt. Desert Island there 11 years agoe).

Being new to kayaking, my question probably should have been more on the lines of what are the differences in handling between a hardchine vs. multichine boat.

Since Pygmy seems to mainly deal with the selling the entire kit vs. plans only (planning to make from plans) I'll probably stick with CLC and am leaning toward the multichine West River as it appears to be somewhat more geared towards day use that I would be using it for.

Thanks for all the input.