This week I completed a Redfish Spring Run kayak and I want to share a few photos with all of you. The boat is 23 and 3/4" wide and built to a 16 foot length.

The hull and deck edges are a light shade of western red cedar. The deck top is also western red cedar, from a single light-colored sapwood board. The dark trim is Peruvian walnut.

This boat has flush hatches, Yakima footbraces, wood bulkheads, a Schade-style backrest and Greenley seat bottom and loop deck fittings.

In the water, I found the Spring Run has very good tracking and no significant weathercocking. The rounded bottom provides very good secondary stability with a low paddler center of gravity. Rolls okay, but I'll add foam inside knee braces to give a little more purchase on the deck.

There are some photos from the building process and completed boat on my web site, but not a complete log.

That's my friend, Steve, trying the boat in these photos.

This is my second strip boat, having build a Guillemot last winter. My next project will be a Guillemot Night Heron, low version, that I want to complete by early next spring.

Thank you everyone for all the great tips on this forum, and to those of you with web sites that give me so many ideas. Ross, Ken, Vaclav, Nick and others, thanks a bunch.

John C
Dallas, Texas