Hey Kyle-

If you choose to go the traditional route I'd recommend getting Qaanniornermut Ilitsersuut by H.C. Petersen through the Qajaq USA web store, and one of the modern books by Morris, Starr, or Cunningham. The Petersen is awesome when it comes to design, but it doesn't have anything about tools or materials. If I had to pick just one book, I think it would be Starr. If you follow the instructions directly, the boats in Morris come out a bit big, the boats in Cunningham come out really over-built and heavy (and you'll spend a lot of time building jigs instead of building the boat), and Starr is about the right combination of both. It's got great text, but not many pictures. It also has lines drawings from six actual qajaqs in museum collections. I used Morris for my first boat, and made a lot of mistakes because I only looked at one source.

A Yost design is definitely easier, and can be cheaper, but I build my SOF with top quality materials for about $375. SOFs are great in a pool. Chlorine won't hurt anything. It will help keep any mildew in check. Following any of the guides will get you a good rolling boat, but if you want to be more roll-only specific you can venture a post on the QajaqUSA web site and get a thousand opinions on how to be more specific.

Also- I know you want a skin boat, which is cool, but you may also want to look in to the Black Pearl by Bjorn Thomasson. It's designed to your dimensions, but is intended to be strip-built. It may be a nice intersection between wanting a rolling boat and wanting to build a strip boat.

Good luck-

m