: Wow, what a site! It's the 3rd nite and I finally got to the end of the msgs.

The bad news is that more messages keep building on the top of the list!!

: My question (for now) is this: I'd like to build a kayak to use mostly in
: salt water. Primarily in bay conditions but would also like to try the
: surf.

A boat designed to handle local wind waves and chop in bays and enter/exit the surf zone will be different than a boat designed to stay and play in the surf.

Another tradeoff is that a wider boat with lots of tracking will feel better when you're first learning, but if you decide to really develop your paddling skills, a more maneuverable (and often tippier) boat will really let you use body English and paddle strokes to move the boat around.

:It must be capable of adapting to my fishing addiction also.

A boat that will be highly capable in surf and big chop will tend to be a bit narrower and need more active control (and relaxed hips) on your part. The benefit is less "twitchiness" and waves won't want to trip you as easily. A boat for fishing will tend to be a bit wider so you can think less about the big one on the end of your line and less about balance. The downside is that you wouldn't want to paddle in quite as nasty of waves with the wider boat.

:If
: there is one style that can accomplish ALL this and still be able to
: handle class II/III whitewater that would be my ideal.

Handling that whitewater and excelling in it are two different things. You can take a lot of boats into Class II/III....just build it super durable. If you want to have fun in the whitewater, I'd just recommend buying a used plastic whitewater boat for $200.

:Any suggestions?
: I'm currently glassing my first strip canoe and already know I want to
: make a kayak. I'm using black walnut for my canoe (I got a ton of boards)
: and would probably use the same for the kayak. Every mention to this boat
: building being addictive is absolutley true!! You have a VERY good forum
: that I hope to use. Thanks!!

Every design is a tradeoff. That's why the truly addicted among us have several boats in our "quiver" so we have the choice of the perfect boat for the conditions encountered.

Happy deciding!!!

Shawn