: Thanks Ken. I guess if I can fit through the window, the boat has a channce!
: I'm 6'1" 290 with size 12. It's the weight that's my concern. I'd
: hate to build a boat and either sink the thing or have a boat that doesn't
: handle as well as it could.

I wasn't suggesting that the Endeavour would be right for you. Just pointing out that the "large fellows" that R.F. referred to aren't all that large.

There have been a few posts (search the archives) by someone who built one of the larger Guillemot designs. If I recall, he was 290 lbs when he finished building, and has used it for numerous extended camping trips, with the kayak packed full of gear. And after 2500 km of paddling, he's now down to 220 or so.

Steve Killing doesn't seem to publish "design displacement" numbers, as some other designers do, but he has published "optimum capacity" numbers, although I can't seem to find those numbers (for kayaks) on the website any more. In either case, its a number that refers to the total combined weight of boat, paddler, and gear. The difference, I think, is that the "design displacement" is a particular weight, that will sink the boat exactly to its designed waterline, whereas the "optimum capacity" is a range of weights - probably akin to "design displacement plus or minus a reasonable allowance on either side, without compromising performance very much". (If I'm wrong about this, someone please jump in)

In any event, at 215 lbs, plus boat weight of 45 lbs, I am pushing the upper limit of the designer's recommended optimum capacity for the Endeavour (150 to 260 lbs). If I bring along a sandwich, I'll be over. And yet I have 2-3 inches of freeboard to the sheer when sitting in the otherwise empty boat. A 105 lb person with no gear would be at the bottom end of that range, and I'm guessing they'd barely be denting the water. You wouldn't push the boat to the bottom, but you might not feel very comfortable in it, and you probably wouldn't want to load it up with 3 weeks worth of camping gear.

The recommended capacity for the True North is 300 to 460 lbs.