Hi John!

Wow! I checked out your website. Beautiful work! I can only hope my finished boat floats. :)
Your review of the NH surprises me. I thought for large open water that it would be better suited over the Petrel for long distance cruising. I would worry with the Petrel that as it is suited for more of play/surf boat it would be difficult to handle if you just wanted to take off for a day and enjoy the sights. I have a 13 foot rec boat that I take out on my local lake (Ray Roberts). The wind here has stopped me several times from going out because I just can't get anywhere and it gets so frustrating. Hence the search for a more appropriate boat.
I would be thrilled to try out the boats you have. I've never done any woodworking but this crazy idea has been in my head since I saw Nick Schade's beautiful boats in his first book. Sorry I'm so wordy. I'm truly excited that someone like you is (or will be) so close by so that I can finally nail down what I want and get it on the water. I've never seen, much less paddled any boat like these.
Thank you for your help.

Hello Jenifer,

: I recommend the Petrel over the Night Heron for Texoma. The NH has
: far less rocker and a bulky bow entry that slows the paddler
: down in waves. The NH is certenly not a boat for someone under
: 200 pounds, or it will drift too much is crosswinds due to the
: flat bottom. I sold m NH about 5 years ago and glad I did.

: I live now in the Fiji Islands but from DFW and paddled Texoma many
: times. Connect with DFW Paddlers group on Yahoo for experienced
: paddlers. I'll be back in DFW February and have a few boats that
: you might like to try.

: My website reviews a few designs that I've built:
: http://www.outdoorplace.org/paddling/

: John