: 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!

The auk looks fantastic, love the contrasting colors. I also have a Great Auk and have all the same comments you made. I purchased mine (building a night heron now) from craigs list and it has way too much resin so its a bit heavy. I consider it the battleship of the kayak world, it is incredibly banged up but just keeps on plugging away. Yours is far to nice to bang up though. Enjoy it!