Howdy, Cash... me again.

Stand by for a highly un-expert reply to your excellent question...

I built a Squeedunk Cormorant 16 last spring, then took it to the Texas Kayak Builders' Bash in Dallas (hosted by Gerald, of this board) while yet having difficulty even staying upright in the stupid thing. Definition of kayak: unstable boat with a hole in the bottom. I never thought I'd do the roll thing in a zillion years either, but after watching a few guys and gals (John Caldeira, also of this forum, is one) having a blast, I returned home all on fire to get into it for myself! And so I did, after a little further work on my cockpit. Here's the story:

I already had the (self-) carved minicell seat in place, and cannot recommend it enough for ANY kayak (and believe me, I've been around the block a few times on this one). I added thigh/knee braces to create something of a "keyhole", ala CLC, and generally outfitted the driver's seat as best I could unnerstand for rolling; see photo below for the pristine result.

Looking back on it all now, here is what actually happened. First, the snug tops of the hip braces were carved off to make getting in and out of the boat less of a complete PITA. Second, I successfully completed a roll on my second attempt, and by the end of summer nailed like four different rolls, even getting reliable results in THE SURF, and had an absolute BLAST doing it!! Buddy, you just ain't had fun till you've gone this far with your homemade boat, take it from me!!! Why, it even makes general pleasure paddling ten times more fun, just from all the extra confidence you get.

Anywayyyy, the thigh/knee braces turned out to be rather unnecessary. Thankfully, I had installed them to be easily removable, since the Cormorant was also destined to be my primary fishing boat as well. They are now discarded souvenirs in my shop.

I have seen things like Shawn Baker's carved knee hooks, but still can't quite unnerstand the concept. What I mean is, while I'm sure they're great and all, it seems like they'd get in the way when doing other kayaking stuff. I kinda prefer to oufit a boat like I expect to use it, then learn to work with what I end up with. Does that make any sense?

Finally, my (lack of) credentials: I started building just three years ago, with a pair of modified CLC Mill Creek 13s (always keep mama happy); the hybrid Cormorants followed for 2004, and now I gots an abandoned Guillemot project to play with (just a bare hull, deck, and strongback at this point) for the 2005 season.

I always loved the Great Auk. Maybe I'll build one some day, but right now I can't get enough raw performance! I'm thinking a Guillemot is going to be great fun as a surf boat.

Cheers, Kurt