I now feel that it's officially winter in New England, and without a heated build space, my new kayak project has been put on hold.  In the meantime, I thought I'd put up some of my favorite pictures of the process for all to see.  This is my first solo build, having some limited experience working with my father on vessels ranging from 8' prams to a 28' cruising sailboat.  More notably, this is my first venture into designing.  I tried taking some design cues from CLC's West River and Shearwater designs, and used some engineering programs to fine-tune the offsets.  I ordered all the parts from CLC and construction began in early September.  Dimensions are 16' X 24", with two chines.

In early October, the local State Park was going to close for the year, and I decided that I just couldn't wait until Spring to try out my creation.  So, I reach what I called the 'functional but not finished' stage and went for a trial run at Emerald Lake in Vermont.  Perfomance is wonderful (based on my limited experience with some store-bought recreationals) and I love how quietly it glides.  I've been doing some reading on here trying to decide the best way to mount the deck rigging and some flush hatches, considering building a sail kit, and anxiously weather warm enough for epoxy work.

Jordan