Coming from a pirogue, I'll be happy if it's stable in 10-15mph winds on one of our larger Tennessee lakes.  

I've had mine out in a small craft warning (not deliberately). 28 mph wind and a confused jumble of waves caused by the combination of opposed winds, tide, river current and powerboat wakes all bouncing off the Naval Academy seawall. The waves around 3 feet max (estimated by the fact that I couldn't see over the biggest ones when I was in their troughs) with whitecaps. Very steep waves.

It was constant work not to broach, but the boat was plenty stable. The bow did get buried a few times, but always came back up before the water got to the coaming. Even with the spray skirt there was water in the boat when I got to shore. It came in through the hatch seals (which I've changed since then to use closed-cell foam instead of the open cell stuff that comes with the kit) and through the spray skirt. Less than half a gallon total and it was a warm day, so it was no problem.

The most important factor is the skill and experience of the paddler. Newbies need to build up slowly to the more difficult conditions. And while the boat can take a lot, if it does flip in those conditions it will be next to impossible to re-enter so you need another way out. If the water is cold, you can get into lots of trouble very quickly, so be careful.

Laszlo

Thanks Laszlo,   I have a deep respect for the water so safety is important to me.

Is re-entry of a WD 12 hard to do in calm water ?  Why are the bulkheads not water tight ?  And would it be hard to make them water tight ?

Thanks again for your input

Loube

The bulkheads are watertight, the hatch seal and the sprayskirt weren't. Even before I changed the seal it was perfectly fine in calm weather, with the new seal it's even tighter.

It's quite easy to re-enter in calm water. I was able to get back into the prototype even before it had bungees installed (and Maggie from CLC documented what was probably the first wet rentry into a WD12).The boat is very stable. Even with my weight entirely on one side of the cockpit, it did not not flip over.

Laszlo

Thank's Laszlo,  You have been a GREAT help.  It look's like the WD 12 is the perfect kayak for what we need.  I look forward to building a pair of them for me and my wife.

Loube

Gee whiz , A kick starter would of thought you had a electric starter on that  :)

Loube,

Glad to help. I've certainly enjoyed mine, both the building and the padlling.

Hammar - LOL

Laszlo