: 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.

: 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.

: 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

Thanks Bob. My brother Mike is in trouble because he didn't tell me about the SOF forum at Qajaq USA (and he even has a sticker from them on his truck).

My son, Peter, is familiar with the Greenland style paddle and wants to build one. He knows what Mike uses so he doesn't think it is lame. We talked about the advantages and disadvantages of the styles (mine is a wood euro because Fishstalker was designed for fishing the lower section of some of the larger rivers in Puget Sound) and he loves the idea of the Greenland paddle.

I kind of skipped over the Kidarka for a couple reasons. First was the complex shape on the stern (we're doing this together but Peter insists on doing most of the work once I show him how). Second is the fact that he is about to really start growing. I don't want to build a boat for him and have him outgrow it in two or three years. I am less concerned with too much boat because most of our trips (after the first few in sheltered bays on Lake Chickamauga to make sure he can control it) will be in deep, slow, sheltered, creeks that flow into the Tennessee River. We'll look at the Kidarka again and see how he feels about it.

I don't understand about performance of single chine boats suffering when the beam gets over 17". Fishstalker is single chine with a 23" beam and Mike liked the performance (I have only paddled a three other boats, two of which were similar hull designs - George Putz's Walrus and another plywood Walrus - so I really can't compare). Mike did say that it was hard to roll but easy to right (it doesn't like to be upside down - and neither do I) but it is still quite agile and tracks well.