I remember looking at a blog by someone who had built a Northeaster Dory in a work space hardly bigger than the boat, but I'm using a two-car garage for my Dory construction and am grateful for the room. I have to get around my boat a lot as I'm working on it. Personally, I think you need two feet of clearance on at least one end. I'd prefer two feet on each end.   

if you can accomodate the length....you should be fine as long as you have some room to be at the side of the boat.

so i would build the boat you want if it can be accomodated.

i am just finishing up a shearwater 17 in an 18 foot garage....which due to other stuff only had about 3 feet of side space in addition to the almost 22 inches of the boat width.

once the boat panels were assembled, the boat was up on sawhorses and i would slide under the boat to get to the other side.

while its a bit more 'safety' room than you claim to have....i could only approach the boat from the side...so i had to be a bit creative moving things around while i worked on different parts of the boat.

does your work shop have a door and is this only a constraint if the door is closed?  i would often work with my door open and only close the door when i was trying to hold heat in or keep rain out.

more space definitely makes it easier.....but you don't need a lot more room to pull it off with a little planning and forethought.

howard

If you're willing to put up with the inconvenience factor, then it's only an obstacle if you let it be.  With that being said, if the inconvenience becomes such an impediment that it keeps you from finishing it, then it's a deal breaker.

Building these boats is a serious monetary and emotional investment, so I recommend building the boat you want, not the boat that fits more easily in your shop unless they're one and the same.

Building these boats is like old saying about buying art, don't buy a piece of art because you love it, buy it because you can't live without it.  In my case, I pulled off the 120 hour build in 3 months basically because I obsessed about it since the first moment I started lofting the plans onto masonite.  Plus, I had a drop dead date of taking it on a scheduled vacation.

Also, if your build is going to occur over the winter, you might need to think about how that works logistically.  I built mine inside my shop at work, but there were a few times where I had to pull it outside to work on it (mostly sanding).  Being able to open the doors on milder days will definitely help if that's possible for the given day's itinerary and temps don't interfere with the hundred batches of epoxy you'll have to mix.

My $0.02.  Hope that helps!

Chris

   I agree with hspira that if you are willing to slide under the boat to get from one side to another, you can build it in a work space that is barely long enough. I also agree that you should build the boat you want because you will be making a big emotional and financial commitment. But if you'd be equally happy with both boats, I'd go with the smaller one. I've been kayaking for almost 50 years in a 10-foot "junior" Folboat that I built in 1967, and I still love it! Small kayaks are usually lighter and can meet many needs.

   I have a 20 x 20 work shop and my Cheasapeake 17 has to sit an an angle. There are shelves in the way. I often take tools off the shelf and slide the stern/bow of the kayak into the shelf space. Now that the weather is cooling off I may go out and organize the space, but there are many things to be done.

I built the thing is about 18 ft of space. It still had to be on the diagonal. I don't bend well so getting under is not an option as mentioned above. 

Most times I'd open the garage door to get walk around room. Interestingly now that I'm getting that house ready to sell I'm taking out the cabinet and storage that hampered the operation. Maybe it wasn't really neccessary back during the build.........

Can you get rid of something and make space?

The most critical time you will need space is when you are aligning the wired up hull and checking for twist/warp/etc. Getting around the end and bumping the hull may undo the work you did.

Those little wires will also rip your shirt as you squeeze around the end in tight places..  

I cannot imagine the performance of the Shearwater and the Wood Duck would be similar or acceptable. If you want a Shearwater 14.5 build a Shearwater .

All,

Many thanks for your kind replies.

I think I will kick off with the WD12, mostly as I would like this to be a family activity and it seems to me that if we need a single boat then this might be a better one.

However, am inspired to tackle the Hybrid Shearwater as boat number two (no harm in a long term plan) by which time I will have a bit more experience to enable me to tackle a challanging job in the tight space. As also suggested, I am able to open the doors and so, British Summer permitting, should be able to work half outside. I'm not sure why this didn't occur to me berfore!

Thanks

Both really good boats. Really depends on your intended use. I have built both. Currently working on my second SWS. Only paddled the first one twice in three years. Everyone jumps in it before I can. If you can have only one boat, SWS. Lazlo is partial to the WD12 and has listed several good arguments in the past. Whatever you choose, good luck. JRC.

Another tip for a small workspace - Install locking castors under your kayak work stand.  It makes it very easy to move the boat so you can create more room where you are working.  Wish that I had done this four boats ago.     

   The casters make it easier to clean up the shop too.

Hi All,

Having covered some ground on my build now and having chosen the Wood Duck 12, I thought I would give you a quick update on my experinces so far, which are: I am not sure if would  have enjoyed building a 14" boat in a 14"6' garage. Currently I can squeeze around one end to get to the other side, climbing underneath every time would become boring quite quickly. So for me, i think I made the right choice with the 12" boat.

Thanks for your thoughts

Jan

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