from what i read you should build her a sit on top.

when i hear the word "aunt" i don't envison someone able to roll or cowboy entry.

But then again you are building a high initial stability boat and it might not be difficult to make it a sit on top.

: I've clearly been badly bitten by the building bug. I built two S&Gs last
: year, build and tried out a SoF at Easter and have a canoe (Selway Fisher
: Prospector) on the go for my brother and his family. But when my aunt said
: she wanted a kayak and was looking at some commercialy available ones I
: naturally though about building her one instead.

: Her criteria are: - mostly for use in sheltered water
: - mostly for exploring as opposed to long journeys
: - high initial stability
: - very manoeverable for playing in small creeks and inlets
: - able to track well when required for straight line journeys
: - lots of foot room: feet must be able to be vertical
: - lightweight so easy to car-top and carry around.

: A skin on frame might be a good option. But I also remembered the Mini Benny
: by Duane Strosaker (although mention of it now seems to have vanished from
: his website - I don't know why - Duane?) which looked interesting, for its
: small size and planing surfing ability, and then I came across the Bluesky
: Rockhopper too. This second one in particular seemed to meet a lot of the
: brief, while going further too: performs very well in rough water and
: surf. We get plenty of that as well as having creeks to explore, so that
: would be a great bonus.

: Rolling all these ideas together I've come up with a possible design. Loads
: of rocker, very U'd bow, completely flat towards the stern - and with a
: transom! It feels like this might tick all the boxes.

: - Short length, lots of rocker, U'd bow and flat bottom aft should all mean
: very manoeverable.
: - Short length = light and easy to handle out of the water. Plus, wooden
: constrution is almost bound to be lighter than the polywotsit commercial
: alternatives anyway.
: - Will probably track positively as is, with the hard chines in the aft half
: compared to the U'd front half giving some directional stability, but I
: would also add a retractable skeg to increase tracking further.
: - Fairly wide, and flat bottom, will give high primary stability.

: The looks have also grown on me since I designed it: I really quite like the
: odd transom now. I've been tweaking the design for a while and have pretty
: much settled on it as where I was trying to get to. Decision time: do I
: build it or not?

: Opinions???