: OK Thomas,

: I'm very glad you are going to go the build route. I was just about to enter
: the fray and contribute towards convincing you. If you get the Arctic Tern
: you will have a very nice kayak. As far as building outside, look at my
: web site. I built the second Coho mostly outside in Texas, and quite a few
: of the pictures and building narrative are from the 2nd Coho. It will give
: you an idea of what you can get away with outside. If you have any
: questions just e-mail me.

Sorry to hear about Coho I. That must have been terrible. Your documentation is very well done and inspiring.

I think I can do this on my deck, and bring stuff in through the sliding doors if I have to during a storm. Our lot is heavily wooded though, will have all sorts of pine needles and stuff falling on construction area, which is why I thought I might tent some tarps between trees in the backyard and build a sawhorse table with plywood. It's also a pretty damp place these days. We only live a mile from the river, and weather has been right wet this summer. Don't know if it will dry out this winter or not. Does that send up any red flags? Can I really do a build in the open and cover with a tarp? Deck is not long enough to hold a full 17 foot kayak, it will hang 3 feet off one side. Luckily my wife is very tolerant of my obsessions! Wish someone would park an empty tractor trailer in my yard for a few months! I tried for the huge attic at our office, but bossman said "nope".

: Regards,

: Steve Pituch