> I bought Nick's book as soon as I could get my hands on it. Presently I'm
> building a wee lassie II...and someday I'll finish it! But I've been
> "plotting" my next endevour. I started plotting out the Great
> Auk lines from Nick's offsets (manually, using grid paper), 'cause I've
> never kayaked before, it's supposed to be stable and the design can be
> shortened a little (17' is about the max for my building space). I didn't
> like the harsh angles of the deck from the sheer to peak, so I plotted
> some of the guillemot's lines "just to compare". I've not seen a
> real good picture of the Great Auk, but I've seen many pictures of the
> guillemot and I already like the design very much....but after comparing
> the two drawings of the offsets....well, what a contrast! The guillemot is
> truly beautiful; much preferred in those terms! Problem is, I'm a complete
> beginner, and I weigh 180#. Question is, would the guillemot be suitable
> for me, or should I go ahead and plan on building the Great Auk. The boat
> would pimarily be used at our local resovoir and other surrounding lakes,
> and the Great Auk looks as though it would cover the water straight and
> fast, the gullemot looks more maneuverable (and more "tippy")
> and would probably be more fun down the road. I was planning to build the
> Auk at about 15.5' long. Any advice is appreciated, but don't send me any
> fancy stuff to my email address....it is just plain old email (I found
> this site on the web from work, so I can occssionally look in). Thanks, G
> Reese

I recommend that you build the Guillemot. (I am a few days from completing a Guillemot and can't wait to be on the water.) The reason I picked this boat is that it's about the same general dimensions as my CLC 16 (and a LOT better looking). The shape of the bottom is somewhat the same as the CLC so I think it will have somewhat the same stability. I'm a relatively new paddler, am a young 62 yrs old and weigh about 170. All of my younger friends who have tried my CLC have inadvertently tipped it over, maybe because they were trying to be too aggressive. I've never capsized it except while practicing wet exits. It is stable enough that I was able to do a self rescue using a paddle float - in calm, warm, water. I have paddled kayaks that are much more stable, but they were a lot less fun. They were slower, more difficult to turn, and not as "lively" in small wind waves and boat wake. I think you will be happy, and safe, in a Guillemot. Just wear a PFD and take it easy until you find its stability features.

I am a relatively new kayak paddler