: Hi all,

: This my first post on this forum, and I’m hoping to get some advice from some
: of you more experienced boat builders and paddlers out there. A friend of
: mine took me kayaking and got me hooked. Unfortunately, I quickly
: discovered that a quality sea kayak greatly exceeds my budget. You can
: imagine how happy I was to find that I could build a great boat for less
: than 1/3 the price of a ready-made one. I’ve been looking at the CLC
: Chesapeake LT17, CLC West River180, or the Pygmy Osprey Standard. Of
: these, which do you think would be most suited for a beginner both in ease
: of building and handling of the kayak? I really like the idea that the
: Osprey is supposed to be an extremely fast and stable boat yet is under
: 16’ long (I will be transporting it with a Geo Metro). Conversely, the CLC
: kayaks come standard with bulkheads and hatches, appear to have much nicer
: cockpits and are cheaper. Am I missing something, or does it look like CLC
: is the better value in a kayak? Your advice is much appreciated.

: Thanks,
: Ken
Ken-

I have built an Osprey Double and am building an Arctic Tern right now. I love the double and have only paddled a Tern once but liked it so much I bought the kit. I have had nothing but excellent experiences with Pygmy. The kits go together easily and they have always been available to answer questions, via email or phone. I do not have any experience with CLC but I don't think you could go wrong with the Osprey Standard.

Good Luck,

Tom