Hi Petter,

Looks like a beautiful boat!
Nice to see such results from a first time builder, it makes me think that maybe I'll be able to complete my own with an ok result. (I have just started on my first boat; hopefully the strips will be cut tomorrow. The boat is a Najad, drawn by Björn Thomasson)

Regards,
Ketil, Molde - Norway

: Hello

: My Guillemot got wet for the first time on august 3. After 15 months in my
: garage (including an 8 months pause) it was GREAT to finally try it in its
: right element
: I have been able to paddle quite a lot the past weeks and I’m very pleased
: with its performance.
: I spent (too?) much time drawing and thinking before I finally got started,
: so I couldn’t help but making a few changes.
: My tweaks are: I stretched it to 18' (like many) and scaled the end forms
: I widened it a bit to aprox. 22”. Mainly because of my limited paddling
: experience (2 seasons in my plastic kayak which I never have felt secure
: in) 22 inches wide, the guil. certainly feels secure.
: I built a rudder and footrest, mainly to have a small project to work on in
: between.
: I added a rather long and low profiled fin at the stern.
: The types of wood used are: local spruce and alder.
: Now I will be paddling around with a smile on my face (can’t get it off) for
: a while before I start planning the next one. My paddling is done on the
: Trondheimsfjord, Norway

: Thanks to everyone at this forum, I’ve learned a lot and picked up many
: helpful tips here. Thanks to Nick for a fabulous book and a very nice
: design.

: Petter