I agree, build it if you have the desire, skill and time (and storage
space). I just finished mine, and it is SOOO much better than the
Stearns ik116 inflatable that I alrrready had - better paddling,
dryer, FIRMER, easier to get the sand and water out (inflatable always
had sand in it, and always had to dry for 3 days to try to avoid
mildew trapped between the layers.

And I dont have to worry about hitting rocks as much, or fishing hook
punctures.... The hard shell is tippier and yet safer feeling (oh, and
I'm 6'3" and didnt quite fit in the ik116 - my toes would go numb
after an hour)

The stearns was/is a nice first boat in a small apartment, so if thats
all you can handle, do it, but realize that its a glorified pool toy,
albeit one that can handle 2ft chop due to its flexability. For towing
a bag-o-wine on a lake it is still great, but for trying to paddle
against the current even for a mile or 2....uh, i'd suggest not.

look into the less expensive rotomolded plastic kayaks, you can beat
em up on the rocks, too!

Save and get a hard shell, or take a winter and build for about $400 -
100 for lumber, 100 for epoxy, 150 for fiberglass (cloth and tape), 50
for 20 cheap brushes, varnish, and a cedar plank for carbing the
paddle (3 bucks), gloves, and 6 rolls of packing tape....

search for plans from guillemot, one ocean, pygmy,CLC, etc.

have fun whatever you decide.

On Wed, 27 Aug 2003 05:13:28 GMT, "Michael Daly"
wrote:

On 26-Aug-2003, (CanoeArt) wrote:

May I suggest, SAVE, SAVE, SAVE. then next year you can buy that sea kayak. You
will have al winter to save and research your DREAM Kayak, eh?

For $500, he could build a kayak.

Mike