Hi Dave,

Congrats on the launch, there is no end to the kind comments by admirerers of hand built kayaks, it's kind of neat though, unless you are on a tight schedule.

I had a vehicle pull up beside me as I was getting into the truck after watching my sons baseball game, a week or so ago. The windows in the large Suburan were tinted and I couldn't see inside as the vehicle pull up and stopped beside me. It stayed there and idled beside me for a few moments and I began to wonder 'what the heck is this guy up to?' A woman rolled down the window and said "I am of inuit decent and the care, love, and craftmanship that I can see in that kayak brought back memories of my parents and grandparents, thanks". And at that she rolled up the window and was on her way. I was touched and had to choke back an emotional sniffle as my son asked what the lady wanted.

Ken

: Hey All,

: I finally launched my Cirrus today. I'll post pics on Monday.

: Yesterday I drove out to Newfound Woodworks in Bristol, NH to pick up a
: seat/backband combo and some hip pads. I had never seen such nice boats
: and it really raised the bar for me when I finally sand out and varnish
: this boat.

: The boat felt decent in the water though the only thing I can compare it to
: is the plastic Current Designs boat I trained in last fall. It tracks very
: true but did respond to leaned turns. The lake had a bit of chop and white
: caps so I took the opportunity to see how it performed in the wind. It
: does tend to weathercock a bit but I had the seat fairly far forward. I
: can pull it back as much a 3" before I glue it down. More testing is
: in order. In all I paddled it on the lake for about an hour and to say the
: least am delighted.

: A funny thing happened this evening while it was still on my car. I took my
: wife to see "Finding Nemo" and after we stopped for Ice Cream. I
: brought the dessert back to the car and stared in wide eyed wonder at my
: "Peanut Butter Cup Sundae". As I contemplated just how to tackle
: the formidable mound of Peanut Butter sauce and whip cream someone spoke
: through my window..."Did you make that or buy it?" As I
: swallowed my first spoonful and thinking some fellow spyed my sundae and
: wanted a line on just what I had there I replied "What's that?"
: . "The kayak. Did you make it?" he continued..."Oh, the
: kayak!" I replied and fumbled with the door and my sundae to get out
: and tell him all about it. The guy was really interested in how I'd built
: it, materials etc... He made no comments about the epoxy drips at the bow
: or the sanded through veneer I can't avoid staring at. All he could say
: was how cool it was and told me I'd done a good job.

: And so it starts...

: I'll take it out again tomorrow and play but then it will come back indoors
: for finishing.

: Dave