I finally got a chance to paddle my new photography kayak named Avocet. The intent of the design was to be stable enough to comfortably shoot my 500mm lens, maneuverable enough for marshes and small lakes, efficient enough to still be used on 7 day trips, high enough deck for a deck bag to go under the deck. I had a night of mixed weather, everything from calm to whitecaps so it worked well for the first paddle. Avocet is a little less stable than the Waters Dancing Solace my current go to kayak for photography and about the same as the NW Synergy (just another kayak I have for reference). She was noticeably more efficient than both. She was very responsive and really fun to do leaned turns in. She tracks just slightly less hard than Gavia Immer the faster kayak I built a year ago which is not a strong tracker but I like it that way. She was an all-around enjoyable boat, just way fun to paddle. She handled waves well from all directions and handled wind well also which was a concern with the higher deck. A deck bag would have grabbed the wind much more than the smoother deck. The cockpit was big and comfortable and the knee braces were really nice and made it so the big cockpit was not sloppy. I have not made the under deck hammock to carry my camera/deck bag yet but I put loops of webbing with both D rings and quick release clips on the 6 bolts that hold the bow bungee. I just need to mitigate the potential of entrapment when I make the finished product. I tested it with a piece of webbing and the hammock will not be in the way at all I don’t think. My new seat arrangement worked well, I will need to take a picture of it. She exceed my expectations. I managed to get some pictures on the test paddle, none of them are wall hangers but that was not the boats fault. The lighting was mostly dark but I did get a few times when I had great light and a good subject.