: I'm looking forward to receiving my new Pygmy. It will be my first yak as
: well as my first kit. I was considering staining the hull (not the deck)
: maybe a medium walnut color. Is water-based the main thing I should look
: for in a stain?

Staining a S&G I found to be a challenge. I stained the hull and not the deck, on my third boat, like you are considering. I used aniline dye, available from woodworking supply houses.

The question is when to stain, or should I say dye, in the building process. To get even coloring of the wood the stain should be applied before stitching. Epoxing the seams will wet some of the outside wood so the color must be applied while all of the wood is bare. I ruled out applying color after the seal coat and before glass because it might interfere with the epoxy-to-epoxy bond. I also ruled out adding color to the epoxy because it might interfere with its structural properties. Water based dyes probably could be used in or between epoxy coats but I did not want to risk it or go through testing., so I stained before stitching. That eliminated the ability to sand the exterior after stitching, doable but a real pain. I also had to touch up the color on the sanded plys where I rounded the chimes, tedious and time consuming.

I found the added effort not to be worth it. I wouldn't do it again, it adds a lot of effort just for cosmetics. If I were a first time builder I would not want to give up the ability so sand off dirt smudges and tool marks before glassing. Coloring the varnish, on the other hand, would be worth investigating.