Hello everyone,

This is my first post. My father and I built a pair of Laughing Loon Georgian Bay kayaks when I was in college in 1993-94 (great design and great project - thanks Rob!!). Although he has not used his in a long time, mine still gets a lot of use (though, I took a few years off of kayaking to pursue other hobbies). I bought the plans and wood (Eastern White Cedar) to build a Redfish Return around 1998 but life got in the way and I never started the project. I lurked on this site years ago and am glad to see that it is still alive and well... I wish it was around when my father and I started our project!!

The urge to build another boat has hit me. I have the wood, tools, experience, etc.... now I just need to figure out which boat. Although I would like to build the Return, I think it would make a lot more sense to build a boat for my wife (she is currently using a Perception Carolina... and it's an ugly tank!). My wife is relatively new to kayaking so I would like a boat with decent primary stability (akin to the Georgian Bay's). Light weight is also a big design consideration. I will use 3/16" strips and will do my best to keep the epoxy and glass to a minimum (within reason). I would like to re-use the coaming form/jig from the Georgian Bay project (1/16" mahogany laminated over the bent form). It makes an attractive coaming and the hard work (the jig) is already done.

I still have all of the stations from the Georgian Bay project (2 sets actually). Could I just shave them down a bit (say ~10%) and reduce the distance between the stations by the same percentage to get a boat that would fit my ~145 lb wife a bit better OR should I consider a different design? If so, is 10% enough do you think? If it is not a good idea, what other designs should I consider based on the above criteria?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

-Jon