http://www.shutterfly.com/my/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b31978258481

Try the above link for photos.

I did not wait for my Shooting Star to be totally done to launch it. I had a chance to go up north to Humboldt County this past weekend and had to give the new boat a splash. I hastily sprayed one coat of varnish on her and grabbed a seat out of another boat before hitting the road. The paddling conditons were very calm the first day in the water. The second day was very windy, but calm water in a protected bay. I hoped for some waves to see how the SS would perform in the type of water it seems it will be best suited for. That will have to wait for another day and for me to finish the seating, varnish and deck lines etc..

My first impression is that this is a very well behaved kayak. I reduced the molds by 3% in a copy machine, leaving the spacing as designed. The finished boat is 21" wide. I found the boat to have plenty of initial stability as well as lots of secondary. I found the SS to be very forgiving and well balanced. At no time did it not go where I pointed it, even in winds gusting over 25 knots. The tracking was excellent, yet a simple sweep turned her without a proplem. My impressions of speed are that this boat is very respectable overall keeping in mind that it is less that 16' 6". It does not seem quite as fast as my Outer Islands, but that impression may change in choppy water. I will let you know.
No boat can do everything perfect. I have heard rumors that there are kayakers owning only one boat. I can't imagine that, but it could be true. My initial feelings are that this is an outstanding design. Everytime I finish a new boat I think it is the most beautiful boat I have ever seen. This design seems particularly beautiful and elegant. My hat off to Rob!!

Some additional info if you are interested. I built the hull out of western red cedar with sitka spruce accents. The strips are milled to 3/16" and some bead and cove was used and some planed edges. The hull was stapled and the deck was done using hot glue. All strip seams were put together with Gorilla Glue. I made the mini decks and bulkheads out of 1/4" Devinicell foam with a layer of fiberglass on each side. The mini decks are veneered with some quilted maple that I cut up into veneer. This foam is light weight and easy to work with. I used 2 layers of 3.2 oz satin finish glass inside and out, except the inside of the deck which has 1 layer. This saves weight but is a fair bit more labor intensive and a pain in the neck. There is some carbon fiber in strategic places inside to add strength. I borrowed a friends scale after the hull and deck were seamed together on the inside, bulkheads installed, cockpit coaming complete and it weighed 30 pounds. I had to return the scale, so I don't know the exact finished weight but it cant't be much more than 32 lbs. It feels like a feather when I pick it up. The aft deck has been lowered behind the cockpit to reduce the cockpit volume and making rolling a bit easier. The foward end has also been dropped a bit as per Rob's plans. I will add more when I get to paddle in other conditions.

Enjoy!

Ken Katz