My $.02,

A) Seems like you really want a greenlander, I suggest finding a way to have one. A chopped version or a well performing boat that is short enough for the condo but isn't a greenland style will likely not satisfy. It might take finding a place to store it, raising some extra bucks for a folder etc. You'll be happier in the long run. btw, while trying to figure out what you want is excellent, what is ideal for you as a novice will not be ideal for you later. As another said, if you go for the expert boat right off, you may not last long enough in the sport to ever learn to use it.

B) You may be able to get away without dowelling if you are very careful, but something to pin the parts together will make it much easier to build and will likely add some strength and ensure things don't get out of alignment during the process.

C) If you use plans, you would be well advised to follow them. Designers are generally experienced and put alot of thought into the designs. That said, floating coamings work well as long as they're suitable for the designed structure.

D) SOF boats are already quite light relative to most other types of construction, so I wouldn't worry much about weight, especially if you are building a scaled down or smaller boat. Using pine won't make the boat much heavier, and you don't have to risk compromising strength.

E) Artists' colours seem to be the most often recommended for best results. Look up the threads on this and the Qajaqusa forum.

Research is great, but if you've only done a week of it I suggest you've only barely begun. Keep on your quest and enjoy the journey!

M

: Good morning everyone...
: Relatively noob to kayaking and definitely new to building. Closest
: thing to building I've ever done is Ikea furniture....
: Been lurking and researching for the last week or so wanting to
: build a SeaRider. There's so much info out there it's been hard
: to sort it all out and hope you can bear with me on this one.
: I've done forum searches etc and my head is about to burst so
: thought I should straight up ask.
: OK... questions

....snip