Thankyou for the comprehensive reply.

I have spoken to the man who sold me the materials for the WR162 and combined with the responses recieved so far in this thread I am shying away from the tortured ply designs. The general consensus is that they are difficult to get to come out to plan. Since the last kayak had a bit of a budget and time over run (I am an engineer so nothing unusual there) I am contemplating all options at this stage to keep the follow up light cheap and quick to build. Skin on frame appeals but working with fabric does not.

Leading contender at the moment for the next design is either a modified chesapeak 16 (I already have the offsets in the book) which I would cut down the shear line by an inch or so and flatten the aft deck. Or the Chesapeake 16 LT plans which essentially do the same thing.

Weight of this boat would not be significantly less than the weight of my own.....

Any guidance on the matter is welcome.