Dear Mr. Moshrefzdeh,
You have identified many of the prerequisites for deciding which kayak design you would like to own. One question I have, is, are you more interested in "making" your boat, than paddling? As you indicated you had intended to build a sail boat, but were discouraged from doing so after confering with a builder. I'm inclined to think that part of your decision to take up paddling in the first place is your desire to build your own boat, otherwise, I'd say you would be sailing.

What ever the answer is, I guess I'd ask other questions. For instance, what kind of workspace is available to you...if you decide on a 20 ft. kayak, and only have a 17ft work space, things might be difficult...in my own case I am working on an 18' 4" boat in a 20' work space...when I was aligning the forms, I couldn't get far enough back from the stern station and stem to get a good idea of the alignment.... The end result is a slighlty cockeyed stern stem.

What ever design you choose, my experience with strip boat building has me beleiving that the more stations in the set up, the better...more places to hold strips on, whether you use staples or not...and more versatility, should you decide to alter the design by adjusting the length and shape of the boat.

I think all the desiners work around the major problem of attatching the deck to the hull. This is no easy task no matter who designed the boat you intend to build. The Bear Mountain Boat Shop incorperates the sheer clamp to help the two parts come together...Laughing Loon deisigns tend to break the deck into three sections, the main deck, and a minideck at each stem (a bulkhead goes in at the first and last station to form a joining place for the main deck and the mini decks), I've read Mr. Schade's book, but haven't memorized it yet, and I'm sorry that I can not recall his method of dealing with this feature of kayak building (I've borrowed his book from the library, and just recently ordered it for my own references).

Are you working from plans alone, or will you be looking for materials packaged for you? If you are working from plans alone, you must have some shop experience, and the necessary tools. The literary sources you mention below are excellent, and you may get more information from the designer of the boat you intend to build. Be carefull not to be confused with methods. I sort of ran into that problem...started stripping the hull of our canoe using both Mr. Moores' "Canoe Craft", and Susan Van Lueven's "Illistrated Guide to WoodStrip Canoe Building" (I hope I have the title right here), and was a bit confused during other parts of the process (it really didn't matter after all was finished)...but there again, I still refer to those books even though I'm building a sea kayak, and I did when I built my wife's stitch and glue Pygmy Boat. Sorry for the ramble, but visualize your processes before you start cutting, gluing, or drilling. Design considerations will be important here too.

The Endeavor you listed is designed by the folks at the Bear Mountain Boat Shop...excellent people, very friendly, helpful and professional. I enjoyed Mr. Moores' writing style, and his life perspectives which showed in his writing and his methods. The designs that come from that shop are such that the boat you build will be very sturdy, and with stations every 12 inches, the design can be adjusted to your specs easily.

Mr. Schade's Gillemot designs are very beautiful; the stems are traditional looking, some are definately boats to "grow" into, as they are high performance craft. I haven't had an oportunity to build from any of his plans yet, but hey, I'm just getting started here. I enjoyed his writing style as well, and his life perspective that came out in his writing and in the methods he proposed was also inspiring.

Mr. Macs' Laughing Loon designs are beautiful, especially his "Baidarka" styled boats. Mr. Macs is also always available to advise you should you have some question regarding his instructions.

I'm not familiar with the West River 180, but I have heard the name "Cape Ann Storm", though I do not recall any details of the design or the designer.

I guess my point is, what ever boat you decide to build, there are more considerations for you to ponder than simply boat usage.

I noticed many suggestions and links for other designs and designers that were off your list. Good luck in your quest. Don't rush your decision. Contact the designers and get a feel for their "attitudes". I think a lot of spirit goes into these things, not the least of which is your own, with every scrape of the rasp or cut of the Dozuki Saw, or drill of the drill, or brush of the epoxy. Enjoy the process. Sincerely,
Bill Cruz

: Hi all,

: I've been pouring over Nick Schade's book, as well as Ted Moores' and Chris
: Kulczycki's, not to mention the various bulletin boards and web sites.
: I've read about a good number of kayaks, both strip and plywood and have
: come up with the following list of kayaks that could well meet my needs:
: Endeavour 17
: Guillemot
: Great Auk
: West River 180
: Cape Ann Storm

: I'm 5'8", 165 Lbs and have never paddled a kayak. Incidentally, I was
: originally planning on building a small sailboat, until I stumbled onto
: another builder's home page, where he explained what a painstaking and
: expensive experience that was and how much more rewarding he had found
: kayaks to be. So I thought "hmm..." ...and here I am considering
: making a kayak

: Anyway, I have several questions, and any input and insights from you guys
: would be appreciated.

: Which of the above do you think is the best all-purpose kayak? or if there's
: one you're thinking of thats not on the list, please let me know that as
: well!

: I live in Vancouver, BC and I anticipate I'll be using the kayak in our
: coastal waters and lakes nearby. I like the idea of camping and
: overnights, but I see myself doing day-trips and just general exploring as
: well. I'm a novice, but I'm pretty good at picking up new
: sports/activities so I don't want to limit myself to a purely novice boat.
: I do see myself learning to do rolls (i figure thats an essential part of
: kayaking, afterall you're bound to get dunked at some point, right?) but
: am not too keen on open (or should I say exposed) ocean and surfing - if
: thats what people mean when they're talking about a kayak being good for
: surfing.

: That said, I guess my subject line says a lot too, since I do see myself
: building again in the future. But until then, i want to build something
: that I'll enjoy for a long time.

: Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
: Joubin