I want to build a kayak and I will. Hopefully responses to this
: message will help me steer in the best direction for me. Any suggestions
: would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the longwinded message but I
: needed to spew this out somehow and my wife doesn't really give a hoot
: about kayaks or the building of one.

This is the place for venting. Many shoulders are better than nothing.
So it's a good thing Bass Ale was on sale. I need another beer!!! Ok, that's better. The only thing sadder was the tale of the tree limb falling on the newly completed yak (that one made me cry ).

Ok. First all is not lost. Think of this as an opprotunity to let the creative juices flow. You have many options. You could turn it into a take-a-part kayak, cut out the damage, replace and paint or not. As for the cockpit, you can make it wider to suit your preferences. Check out a couple of commercial cockpits to see what you like and don't. Then just trim the deck panels to where you need them to be. That's the beauty of making stuff with wood. If it breaks, just fix it. Say you don't like the way one panel looks, just replace it.

So buck up little camper. Take the time away from home to formulate a plan of attack. When you get back you'll be ready mentally to get past this.

Larry