: Howdy Mark!
: Just curious, but how much kayaking experience do you have? If you are
: experienced, then you might as well ignore the rest of my rambling, eh?

I am a beginner. I rented a kayak a couple of years ago and enjoyed it. So when I shopped the internet for something used I came across nick's site, bought the book and plans and now I'm almost finished. I just needed to get in the water. I was even paddling without a seat, (just leaning against the coaming). There is still a lot that I need to learn, this site is great for that. I'll try all of these suggestions and see what it'll take to fix it. Thanks for all of the info.