: Hi Bob

: What is clear is that you are going to need very different boats. You are
: fully double Robin's weight.

: To get you into looking in the right zone you might try looking at the
: following links for yourself: http://www.oneoceankayaks.com/CAexped.htm
: http://www.oneoceankayaks.com/kayakpro/HVtech.htm

: And the following link for Robin:
: http://www.oneoceankayaks.com/kayakpro/SLTtech.htm

: Or you might like to look at something like the Spring Run (pictured below),
: which comes in two different displacement options ( the small and the
: large). This would give you appropriate boats with a similar look to them
: and similar performance properties.

: http://www.redfishkayak.com/spring_run.htm

: Guillemot Kayak's AUKS and GUILLEMOTS come in different sizes too.

: http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/guillemot/StripFamily

: For a slightly more difficult first build that will get you beautiful results
: that will suit your intended usage have a look at the following baidarkas.
: Also larger and smaller respectively.

: http://www.laughingloon.com/north.star.html

: http://www.laughingloon.com/firestar.html

: These are only a few options. There is a plethora of choice out there. Once
: you have found yourself with a designer you like the look of, email them
: with your specs and let them advise you.

: With designs which have good amounts of freeboard, a small person like Robin
: may also benefit from having an inch off at the sheer to give her more
: paddle clearance. Check with the designer.

: I hope this gets you off looking on the right track.

: The main thing to keep in mind is that at 135 lbs Robin will not be able to
: properly displace a boat designed for a guy of your stature. If the boat
: is too buoyant the keel will not engage along its full length and the boat
: will not track properly. Also, if the sheer is too high above the keel, a
: shorter person has to lift their paddle uncomfortably high in order to
: clear the deck. A boat that has too much volume is, in my experience,
: actually less efficient all around than one that is too small.

: Conversely, you actually do need a big volume boat.

: The attached link is to some of my pondering on choosing the right kayak.

: Good hunting

: Etienne

Great forum, thanks for the input. We have plenty of research to do and are pointed in the right direction. Will post progress.