Hi everyone,

After some consideration, my girlfriend and I have decided that we'd like to build a pair of wooden SOF kayaks to supplement the lapstrake sailing dinghy we completed last October. This is due primarily to the fact that while our boat is a delight to sail, the time and effort it takes to get her rigged and ready to go makes her better suited for a daylong weekend excursion than an afternoon on the water after work. The apparent simplicity and ease of construction of Tom Yost's kayaks has struck our eye, and we're now in the process of choosing which design to build. We're neophytes to the world of kayaks, however, so any advice would be most appreciated.

Our main requirements are:

1) If possible, we would like to have chose a design that is appropriate for both of us, to simplify the construction of two craft. I'm 5'7 and 160 pounds, she's 5'4 and 125.

2) The design should be stable enough for a beginning paddler. While we've considerable experience with dinghy sailing, as mentioned before, we have limited kayaking knowledge.

3) We would like to be able to pack some gear into these. A picnic lunch at the minimum, but more room would naturally open more possibilities in terms of excursions.

4) She prefers to stay dry when possible.

Based on these requirements and what we've been able to glean from the forums, we've been primarily considering the Nikumi, SeaTour EXP 15 and 17, as well as the SeaBee, which from what I understand, is essentially a "SeaTour EXP 13", however without any kayak design knowledge to speak of, it's difficult for us to accurately asses whether these would be appropriate for the envisioned role.

Thanks for reading!

-Jonathan and Amy