: Did you consider other boats?

I'm an inland paddler, so although I did consider several other boats from LaughingLoon and Redfish, I did not select the design specifically for playing in waves or surf. You might contact several of the designers with questions about your specific application.

: Do you steam bend the stem - I was having trouble figuring out how it was made in the web site. :
No need. I just ripped a bunch of 1/4" strips into 1/8" strips. That made them very flexible. Then I wrapped one end of the strips into a bundle, slathered the whole mess with polyurethane glue and taped it to the bow and stern. Messy but easy. It was lots of fun to see a nice laminated bow take shape under all that glue and cedar.