: Help... I am bitten with the Kayak building bug. I have spent an unreal
: amount of hours on the internet searching for information and methods for
: building wood kayaks. I have come to the conclution that my first project
: will be a stitch and glue. I have lots of power and hand tool experience
: and some furniture building knowledge and a little bit of exposure to
: fiberglass. My wife thinks I should buy the kit minus the glass and let a
: shop do it, but that will have to wait for another disscution. My question
: tonight is, has anyone had experiance with either Waters Dancing kits or
: Pygmy kits, I am torn between the two.
: Thanks,
: Steve
: s-diehl@usa.net

I have tons of experience with Waters Dancing Kayaks, Steve. I've built two of the Lightning 17's and watched Donnie (owner) build them in his shop. I'm taking my number two on a 3000 km trip begining this month. I'm looking at building the Solace 18XL and Solace 14 sometime this year, too! That. of course, depends more on money than anything else. The kits are easy to build, parts machined with a computer driven router that makes perfectly fiting pieces and come with a very good manual that leaves little to get confused about. The time to build depends on yourself. It will take you about 120 hours to build as long as you're careful and not impatient. You won't be able to get soemone at a shop to glass the yak without huge expense, the work is careful, detailed and you really do want to know how it goes just in case you need to do a repair one day. Glassing the yak is explained carefully in the manual and really is not a big challenge.

The kayaks are stable and track well. They are perfect for a first timer. Deciding on which kit you want depends on what you want the kayak for. Expeditions? Day trips? Weekend trips? Your body size. The new Solace designs are awesome in appearance and designed for easier rolling. The older designs like the Lightning are pretty cool, too!

Ask if you have any uestions. I can get answers directly from Donnie within a day if I can't answer tehm myself. If you search Pygmy here you should find tons of info posted by the other GBBS folk.

Robert N Pruden