: Somewhere along the way, my wife's attitude changed from 'you crazy idiot,
: why would you want to BUILD a kayak' to 'when are you starting on mine?'
: Think it was about the time that I first sealed the bare wood. Ya gotta
: hate when that happens. So, time to choose a design. I'm not finding much
: suitable for her in S&G, so this one will probably be strip. Anyone care
: to help winnow the choices? Here are the parameters: For practical
: considerations of building and storage, 16' is max. length.
: Use is day paddling inland lakes, little to no cargo requirements.
: Paddler is 5' tall, so relatively low deck and cockpit sides are in order.

: She's not terribly athletic or committed to kayaking as some are, so
: something qualifying as a 'beginners' boat is probably about right.
: Specifically, she wants a fair amount of initial stability. Examples: her
: Dagger Cypress (13' by 26.5") is fine, but she's starting to realize
: the benefits of something sleeker. My old Edisto (14'6" by
: 24.5") is okay, tho the deck's a little tall for her. The Osprey
: (15'8" by 24")- she can paddle it, but it's at the edge of her
: comfort zone. But she loves the way it moves and tracks, so she wants to
: keep trying to see if she can get used to it.

: So far, I've found the Caspian Sea by John Winters, and toyed with shrinking
: a Great Auk 11/12ths(length only, maybe drop the deck a little). Any
: thoughts on these or other choices?

Thought about the Storm SLT? Working on one for my wife, who's 5'4", 115#. Very pretty boat. Someone on the board built one and can comment on it "in the wood." Very low volume, but forgiving, I think. 15' 6", so the size needs no adjustment. If your wife finds the Osprey too lively, however, she might not want to go to the SLT's 21" beam. Finally, our Tern 14 suits my wife very well, though we built it for our son, who's just 13. We all love it, though it won't glide like your Osprey, or the SLT. We think of it as our Miata.
--Scott