I've decided there are just too many choices. I guess that's why you can't build just one. :-) At this point I think I need to just roll the dice and pick one and go with it. I could spend the rest of my life buying and reading all the fantastic books out there and never get around to actually buildng anything!

Greg, I sure appreciate your confidence in me, but I feel like a "warm up" is a good idea nonetheless. It seems pretty universal that everyone's first boat is heavier than they had hoped, so I'm hoping to get that worked out on a boat where weight isn't as critical as it will be to me on my solo kayak.

I did check out Chris's book and it looked great. I just don't feel confident enough of my abilities to build a canoe or kayak from a book yet. I think I'd better stay conservative and go with full plans and the calvary on hold for my first attempt.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I think I'm going to go with the Kipawa II stitch and glue and give it my best shot. I'll try to get the plans soon and work on finding a source for wood close enough to drive to. Gotta find a truck to borrow too. Then I can just take my time with it over the winter and make a big push in the spring after tax season is over.

In the meantime, I haven't even made my Greenland paddle yet. Still working on attaching the ash to the tips of the cedar board, for crying out loud. I think I'm going with scarf joints to do that. If I'm patient, I think I can get that to work. Tried a tongue and groove twice with hand tools and it wasn't good enough for my tastes. I've got one piece of ash almost ready. Man, that stuff's hard!

Geeze, and Christmas is coming and I haven't even started the little wooden ornament holding trees I'm making. I need to retire. Not enough time for all my projects.

Patsy

: Patsy -- I agree with Bret's comment's below; try "The Canoe Shop".
: I don't have the book, but have looked thru it, and it should be just what
: you need. BTW, you don't really need a warm up before building a
: Merganser. My first boat (and only one complete, working on a strip canoe
: for my wife) is a Merganser 17W, built from plans. Good luck, and post
: pictures. -- Greg