Hi Folks,

Long, long time no post! (I'm in the old forums here as "Pawistik" - I had to re-register today and did so using my real name.) How are y'all? Some of the older folks around me (RNP, you know who you are) will remember me, I built a guillemot for my wife about 10 years ago, and about 4 years ago built a sea flea for my daughters. You can see some of my boatbuilding stuff at http://pawistik.blogspot.ca/p/boat-paddle-building.html

Now, on to my question. I teach kayak lessons. In the winter and spring, those lessons are in the pool. There are kayaks there at the pool for students to use, but sometimes I need another kayak, plus I like having my own to paddle. Currently, that means I'm often hauling my 18' fiberglass kayak in and out of the back doors of the pool facility. That kayak is great when I'm camping or paddling in rough water, but it's a tad overkill in the pool, and it's long and heavy. So, I'm looking to build a kayak for teaching lessons, primarily for pool use.

My criteria:
* I'm 6'3", about 205 lbs, size 11.5 feet.
* kayak should be light
* kayak should be short (for ease of transportation, and maneuvering in the confines of the pool)
* I'm thinking 22-23" beam, but may need to be wider to accommodate the shorter length
* fast and easy build (ie SOF)
* cheap to build
* it should roll
* I should be able to perform and demonstrate a variety of techniques without it making me look like a fool. Rolling, bracing, rescues of various sorts, edging, etc. (e.g. I should not be so oversized for the kayak that it spontaneously dumps me when I drop my guard.)
* It should not handle like a barge
* it needs to handle my 205 lbs, but there is little or no need for extra capacity in terms of day tripping gear.

I do have a couple of kayak designs in mind, but I want to know what the forum suggests. Any real world experience from the taller guys here in some of the shorter designs?

Cheers,
Bryan

p.s. The picture is me teaching in my fiberglass 18' Wilderness Systems Tempest. I'm the guy in the yellow PFD and the red & white kayak.