: Looks great. I've been thinking I might do one of those. Its a ways down the
: list, though. How long did it take you to get this far?

Total time is about 2 1/2 months, but lots of that was spent in time-outs for design thoughts. There was also some backtracking - I abandonded the first set of gunwales, redid lots of ribs, and broke one deck beam at the mortise after it was in place.

I've learned over the years that if I am uncertain as to what to do next, the best thing to do is to mull it over for a few days. The Morris chapter has a good overview but lacks lots of specific design info, so I agonized over lots of little things.

The final design is in-between the Retreval and Recovery designs. I could't talk myself into the ultra flat bottom of the recovery kayak and my rib-bending skills left me with even more curve in the bottom than I originally intended. I wanted enought room for big feet and had to raise the masik up so I could fit myself into the boat.

What I really want to build is a Greenland-style boat, but I thought that I should brush up on my woodworking skills first. I bought the material for both boats, and have learned a lot on this one. This one is short enough that it fits nicely into the living room letting me work on it in the evenings without having to be in an un-heated garage. It terns out that a kayak in the living room can make a great conversation piece.

I chose this boat because I have no boats like it. I have an Pygmy Arctic Tern that I built last year and my wife has a Necky Santa Cruise. I figured that I could learn more about boat design by making something quite different from the other boats. I also wanted a cheaper and easier to store boat that my kids could use.