: Interested in hearing views on these boats, and any others that may fit my
: needs (Double, novice paddler, available in a kit).

I'd forget the kit and look for good plans. S

titch and glue boats don't have very many parts to start with, so you will get a good value for your time if you cut out the pieces yourself.

Your double will probably be 17 to 20 feet long. The kit package will be about 8 feet long.

With a kit all your pieces need to be joined to make them full length. Probably 2 joints (joining three pieces) for each hull panel. You spend your time on a lot of joints. It doesn;t matter if they are butt joints or scarf joints, with 4 hull panels and two deck panels you have a dozen joints. A multichine hull would have more hull panels, and you would have more joints.

It you scarf and join entire sheets of plywood you get one long panel suitable for your parts. Making just 1 or 2 scarf joints (to get a 4 foot wide panel which is nearly 16 or 24 feet long) is obviously going to be faster than making 12 or more joints on smaller parts. And cheaper!

You'll trade the time on scarfing together three sheets of plywood and cutting the panels yourself for the time you would spend on all the joints from a kit.

A double can be made from thicker materials, and it probably should be. That works well for you. You can buy exterior glued 1/4 inch (or 5mm +) lauan at most lumberyards for under $11 a sheet -- which is far more reasonable than what you would pay for 3mm or 4mm marine plywood. Since you can buy that lauan plywood tonight, you can start building tonight. A faster start than waiting for a kit to arrive.

Regarding your choice of plans: since your intended use involves three paddlers of different weight, and your possible options range from the two lightest to the two heaviest, trying to determine seat locations, and therefore cockpit locations, can be a real challenge. I'd make the construction simpler, and allow for maximum variation in seating, by making a large single cockpit, and adjustable seats. This would allow the bow and stern paddlers to reposition themselves for best balance.

The advantages here are that the 5 year old can be shoved far forward this year, and as she grows her seat an be slid back to maintain balance. And should the youngster get thirsty, or hungry, they can scurry back a foot or so to the day pack for a water bottle or sandwich. When they get tired, they can lie down.

Also consider that a double sized to carry two adults with camping gear can carry two adults and a child on daytrips. The large, open cockpit allows you to simply set up a middle seat. And of course if you end up paddling the thing solo, you can sit in the middle for best balance.

Just to add to the pictures you have undoubtedly looked at, at the bottom is a
Touring Double 17 from www.clarkcraft.com which is stitch and glue construction. It has two cockpits, but you could easily remove the wood between them and change the deck.
http://www.clarkcraft.com/cgi-local/shop.pl?type=item&categ=014&item=934922361&cart_id=3e7d6c336854d66d173a0cdbb5347412

Their Touring Double 16, which is shorter but wider, is rated for 800 pounds and has an large single cockpit.

http://www.clarkcraft.com/cgi-local/shop.pl?type=item&categ=014&item=934920816&cart_id=3e7d6c336854d66d173a0cdbb5347412

Just some thoughts for you.

Good luck with your project.

PGJ