: I am getting ready to build a skin-on-frame kayak for my 12 year
: old son. I liked the 13 foot Sea Bee single chine on the
: YostWerks website but he says the offsets for it are not
: available.

I seem to remember Tom removed the single chine version because he found that when the beam of the single chines became more than 17 inches the performance suffered.

: I liked the look of the Sea Cruiser but since my son
: is only 110 lbs that is more boat than he needs. There were
: offsets for a 15 foot version of the Sea Tour but I think we
: favor the profile of the Cruiser to the Tour. I am considering
: using the Sea Tour 15 section spacing with the Sea Cruiser
: offsets. Am I nuts? More importantly, can I do it?

Your right, way too much boat, as is the Sea Bee. Consider Tom's Kidarka: http://yostwerks.com/Kidarka.html
Assuming your son, 110#; gear, 15/20#; and a little more weight in the build you are still under the design displacement. And the lines are stylin'; the kid will love it. The 19" beam may sound a but narrow for a first kayak, but your son's center of balance will be low so he should have no problem if he is the slightest bit adventurous.

: My son was suppose to take a sailing camp this summer but I
: suggested a kayak instead so I only have about $250 to get him
: outfitted (kayak, paddle, PFD, etc.).

This sounds doable, especially if you make him a Greenland paddle from a 2x4. http://yostwerks.com/Kidarka.html , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmfD5MEZW6o The kid will probably think it looks lame, but it will work much better for him because you will custom fit it to him. Any paddle that will fit in your budget will be too large and cumbersome.

You may wish to check out the SOF forum at Qajaq USA: http://www.qajaqusa.org/cgi-bin/GreenlandTechniqueForum_config.pl?md=index;page=1

Some more Kidarka photos from Tom's site:
http://yostwerks.com/DaveKidB.html
http://yostwerks.com/DaveKidB.html
Note the two different styles of bow.

Whichever kayak you decide to build you're a good dad.

~Bob