Well..I finally put her in the water! Not the kindest weather, 44 degrees, 25 mph winds, and really cold water, but it got wet none the less. Had a christening ceremony and gave it a good trial run over the weekend.

See the Photo album here:
http://s610.photobucket.com/albums/tt190/mtkayak/Kayak%20launching/

17'x 23" Great Auk (built 1" narrower than plans)
wood - cedar, Padauk, figured maple, some spruce, ash, & mahogany (no staples)
weight - 46lbs - 6oz glass guillemot standard lay-up
Captain's Spar Varnish - 6 coats - last one buffed out

Initial impressions:
my limited experience - a couple days in a Perception Eclipse 17'x22" yak, a couple days in a sit on top in Hawaii, and some demo time in the CLC kayaks (CLC17- shearwater 17- night heron)
paddler - I am 6'-0", 210lbs, sz 10.5 shoes
Stability - I found it to be quite stable even in the the choppy water and gusty winds. I found myself concentrating a bit more when sideways to the waves but never dumped it.
Tracking - built with no rudder. I was hoping it to be a bit more straight tracking but it was not unreasonable even in the gusting 25mph winds. Paddling into the wind up to 45d either way seemed to track better than down wind where it tended to want to round up. Occasional heavy sweep strokes and or ruddering a paddle on the downwind side kept her on course. In any case in that wind I had to continually work at course keeping. I will certainly paddle it as is to get more used to it but I'm not ruling out putting a rudder on at some point.
Maneuverability - I'm not a pro here. Lots to learn yet, but it wasn't anything surprising. Seemed typical to what I have experienced in other kayaks of this size.
Fit - I had plenty of room inside and for my feet. The cockpit is per plan and plenty big enough to raise a knee. I built it with a bit of recess and laying back is no problem.
Speed - I was maybe expecting it to be a bit faster but I had nothing to gauge it on. Still I was able to get where I needed go fairly quickly.

Overall I am very happy with it. Can't wait to get some more time in it now. Looking forward to another build maybe this winter too.
Thanks to everyone on this forum for the insight that made this build a success!