Henk,
What do you do if you create an evil handling beast that is a bit unsafe? Do you give it a "Viking funeral" and way goodbye to all the dollars, Euros or whatever that it cost? You wouldn't sell it to some unsuspecting amatuer, would you?
Or would you?

: Hello Paul,

: To design your own boat with nothing but a PC and some spare time playing
: behind the computer is just plain fun. Then building it and watching all
: the panels fit accurately to the millimeter, seeing the boat come together
: just as it was designed, is a great experience! Your advice goes against
: all the fun things that CAD was meant to do. For what reason?

: If you would only build one S&G boat ever and you want it to be right the
: first time then, yes, it is best to go with a proven design. But if you
: are like me, I like to try to design something and play around with it
: while not expecting a perfect result. If I don't like it I build another
: one next year. So far it has always worked fine from the first boat on
: (uhmm well only 2 so far, soon 3 I hope).

: Maybe you should try it yourself some time. Like I posted earlier, and others
: may disagree, there is not at all a lot of software that suits the needs
: of S&G kayak building. It can be overdesigned, or proprietary. But with
: the right tools, it adds extra satisfaction to the job. Your fear of
: giving up prematurely is not justified IMHO because the sense of pride and
: ownership is increased when you design your own. So the question was right
: on and I hope that others who would like to try it, are encouraged.

: Henk