: Brian, do your legs get numb?

No.

: What is the longest time you have spent
: paddling at once in your skin boats?

Good question. I would guess ~ 2 hours. My 'glass boats are set up similarly and I paddle them for 2-3 hour stretches without any problems. I find paddling with my legs straight to be much more relaxing. They're laying on the bottom of the hull, muscles completely relaxed, feet on the footrest(s). All the paddling force that is transmitted through my legs is carried by bones, rather than muscle, so very little energy is expended unless I'm paddling hard and pulling up on the masik to counter the crunch phase of the stroke. My 'glass boats all have minicell foam pads that function just as the masik in a skin boat.

: Did you make the ribs deeper or do
: something with the deck? That was probably a stupid question.

Not at all. I did a combination of the two, though most of the increase was in the deck. On the second boat, I added 4' long, 2.5" high riser wedges to the gunwales at the bow and stern. The main reasons were to increase volume and allow from more rocker, but they also allowed me to make the foredeck a bit higher at the footrest without it looking strange.

: I ask because I am thinking ahead to the Baidarka I would like to build for
: myself. This boat is for my son. It will be a learner. With a bigger than
: traditional cockpit. He feels comfortable in my expedition single so I was
: going to make one that size and fit it with cockpit braces similar to what
: Nick did with his.

The beauty of making your own boats is that you can build them however you want. Don't feel constrained by tradition.

: Anyway this particular style of boat seems so cheap to make compared to my
: strip boats, that I won't mind making say 6 or 7 of them till I get it
: right.

Well, I'm hoping #3 will be the charm.

: Of course that doesnt include the slow water river boat stripper,
: the shootin star, the stitch and glue, the sailboat blah, blah, blah. My
: job really gets in the way of my hobbies ya know? Lets see I'm 41 now,
: with an expected life span of 70, and an average of 1 boat per
: year...........

Good thinking! I'm 45 and the men in my family often live to 90 or better...

Whoo Hoo, that's a LOT of boats! Maybe someday I'll catch up to where Harvey Golden is NOW! Come to think of it, at his current pace, he may hit 1000 boats before he gives up the ghost!!!