I really like Allan's design and would have probably ask for the file if it was around when my kids were young. Baed on pictures I have seen it looks like a responsive and efficient boat. I built 2 pygmy boat arctic tern 14's when my kids were teenagers. The boats were a little big but gave them room to grow and allowed for overnight trips. My youngest daughter who is in her early 20's still paddles one and a good friends adult daughter still paddles the other one. My current dilemma is the same daughter likes going on multi day trips and the tern is a little tight for that. She ends up paddling other boats in the 16' to 17.5' range. I designed some 15' foot boats but to handle a light person and gear you need to make them a little wider than I like. I found I can make a more narrow 16 footer that is more efficient in all ways but a little longer than she would prefer. Fitting kids is an interesting challenge. My advice is just pick one and build it the experience together is the most important thing.