: If cost is a factor I built a Plan Built Merganser 16 (Older Brother of
: Shearwater) from Eric Shade's own web site see link below. Anyway both my
: 15 YO son 130lbs and my daughter under 100 lbs have used it with no
: problems managing it in average conditions.

: Another advantage to this older design is he offers a 15' version at 24"
: wide so once built it would serve younger / female / and average newbees
: well

Thanks for the responses; all good ones, too. I also like the 'looks' of the Shearwaters/Merganser,and I know Pygmy has nice kits. I've been leaning more toward a 'from plans' only approach, primarily just because I'd like to see if I can do it; and the idea of building a stripper seems to have caught my fancy at present.
I know some have built a '95%' or so reduction of various boats, including Outer Island and Cormorant; some have mentioned they're a bit tippier than perhaps they'd liked? So.... looking for boats actually designed for the smaller paddler. Again, good ideas, and appreciated.