: Hi to all,

: I am considering to build an Aleut Baidarka. I don't know yet if other family
: members will want to share kayak excursions with me or not. Past
: experience shows they aren't too fond of sailing, so I operate my
: self-built sailing dinghy mostly single-handed, and I am a bit unsure
: whether to build a 1- or 2-hole Baidarka.

: Question: can a 2-hole Baidarka be run by a single person without too much
: trade-off on its stability and overall properties? I guess that the center
: of gravity for a single hole would lie somewhere slightly ahead of the
: operator, about where the paddle touches the water. For a 2-hole with one
: guy sitting back the balance must be quite different.

: Any experience or suggestions?

: Kind regards from Austria

My wife and I were thinking of building a two or three-person yak to start with. Then she tried my Coho. "Why should I have a minivan when I can have a Ferrari?" she said upon returning to the dock. The rest is history: two Pygmys, two strippers, and miscellaneous other craft in our armada. My two cents: build two singles, and have fun!

--Scott