: It must be fate, I have been looking for someone who has knowledge of Dancing
: Waters kits and have not been able to get any information and the first
: message I find here is about DW.
: Has anyone here built one of these kits? If so what was your opinion of the
: kit, the performance of the finished product and customer service? On
: paper they look good, a very complete kit with their new clip system seem
: to fill the bill for any novice kit builder but would like feedback if
: possible.
: I thank you in advance for your time to anyone that can be of help in this
: matter.

Binnnnnnnnnnng! I've built two WD kits. I live just a few city blocks from the WD shop. First, I'll let you know that my experience with S&G kayaks is strictly WD. There are no others here so that's all I have. I was just lucky that they were here. The kits are cut perfectly using a robot-guided router (I've seen it work and wow! is it cool!). Every part is cut exactly to spec and fits perfectly. The kit comes with blue prints to help prevent you from joining any panels incorrectly. Not all the kits are quik-lock so the blue prints can really help avoid confusion. The manuals are written to high standards and full of excellent descriptive so it is easy to visualize what needs to be done and simple to translate it to real action. I built the Lightning 17. I've found it to be very stable. It tracks well, knife straight and handles well in rough weather. I can load up a months worth of gear and food in her hatches. In fact, I'm gettin gready for a months paddle that will be happening May 31. Customer service is excellent. Donnie and Jeff are always there to help and answer questions expertly. I have never had a problem with service. In fact, I usually get extra help if they deem I need it. Of course, they haven't yet offered to give me a free yak yet: that would be the epitome of good service in my books. Overall the kit is complete. All you need is a few basic tools, sand paper, clamps and you're ready to go. Incidently, Donnie advises using 3" PVC tubing cut into 1" sections then sliced open to make cheap strong clamps. I'm sure that if you go with WD you'll be happy with what you get. If you have any other questions just ring the bell, I'm here often enough.

Robert N Pruden