Yo Baum

My two bits worth: I built two stitch and glue guillemots for the kids. They apparently perform similarly to a guillemot strip. I am half way through building the guillemot expedition.

The hard chines are a feature of Nicks designs that help the boat chine steer (by leaning) in the absence of a rudder. I thought it would be hard to strip the 'chine', but it wasn't.

I weigh @210 lbs (95 kg) and the guillemot s&g is a fabulous day boat for me. It surfs 1 - 2 m waves really well. It can wobble all over the place if you let it, but if you want to go straight in a quartering sea you can, by using the chine steering thingy (where you lean the opposite way to where you want to turn). The guillemot s&g is good for manouevering around rocks and wharf piles. It seems a little slow upwind (a factor mostly associated with its unfit powersource), but is a rocket down wind. The S&G Guillemot is Reassuringly stable at rest and comfortable in rough conditions. Any novice who paddles it is instantly at ease and has a big grin on their faces.

I love the little guillemot s&g and if you go with other kayaks you can spread the gear between the boats. Last christmas my son and I went on an overnight stop on Lake Taupo, NZ and between us we had ample supplies and luxuries (including deck chairs, books and wine)to stay as long as we wanted.

I am building the expedition single for those times when I want to go away all by myself for weeks on end (unlikely to happen - no time to myself and in reality, I mostly get out on little 1 - 2 hour escapes and an occasional day trip and overnighter) and because the expedition should have more water line length = speed, Looks cool, and can carry the extra weight (me). I am guessing and hoping that it will perform similarly to the s&g guillemot.

If you are specifically planning for an expediton, then the great auk or expedition single is probably more appropriate. I would have liked to build the auk first as practice, but wasn't allowed to.

Cheers Pete