: Fair enough. I'm a beginner, truth be told. I might be biting off a
: lot, but I figure if I'm going to build it and keep it, it might
: as well be something that I'll be using for a while. I don't
: mind learning, and there's no lack of open water, closed water,
: rivers, etc to learn in.

: What do you have Bill, or have you used? And what can you tell me
: about the actual function of these boats, in addition to my
: original inquiry of my size vs the size of the kayak.

: Thanks, and please do be honest!tai

I went through the same considerations for the Single Expedition versus the Guillemot L. I decided on the Guillemot L because of its extra beam 23 inch and extra cargo capacity. They are about the same difficulty to build. I came from a Wilderness recreation kayak, which has a deeper V. So going from a rec kayak to a real sea kayak took some help with understanding of paddling, turning, and knee/thigh bracing, so I am "One with my kayak". Since I am a large paddler I was able to design the cockpit to my size for the width and length. I live in SW Florida and paddle the bays, mangrove creeks, and sometimes the open ocean. I felt the Guillemot L was a better all round kayak for my area. I had problems with tracking on my Wilderness kayak, so I decided to install a skeg for the Guillemot L. I would highly recomend it. For a larger paddler the Guillemot L can turn and handle better in the creeks and mangrove tunnels than my buddies 16 foot Eddyline. During windy conditions with the skeg up the Guillemot L bow and stern can jump round with wind and tide conditions (some folks call it slippery). I only have to drop the skeg down about an inch, and it starts to track true. Winds above 12-15 knots, I drop the skeg down to 3 or 4 inches and nails down the tracking like a rock! Beauty about the Guillemot L I can manuever through the mangrove tunnels better than production kayaks, and I can beat most of them in a long paddle ( we are older paddlers). My top speed has been 5.5mi/hour. I am a little slower is getting up to speed, but I can maintain a higher speed over longer distance. Its funny, with a little headwind it seems to paddle easier at the upper in of the performance range. For me the sweet spot is about 4.5 to 4.8mi/ hour..I have check this with my GPS.

Conclusion, if you are looking for a little more speed then the Single Expedition is the right kayak. If you are wanting a more "all round" sea kayak then the Guillemot L will fill the bill... PS: With the tides we been having lately some of the mangrove creeks have been acting like fast moving rivers. The Guillemot L can turn on dime compared to the my Wilderness and some other production kayaks.