Dan,

I have been reading all your posts and checking out your pictures.  I think I am just a few steps behind you in my Shearwater 16 Hybrid build.  Your posts have been very helpful. 

I am getting pretty excited about finishing my boat - yours looks great!

http://ktsame.wordpress.com/

 Kathy

Nice boat, Kathy! Kind of a flashback looking at your pictures.

I find it interesting that we used similar deck patterns (like the one in the manual). What I found in laying out the wood supplied was that there weren't many of the really dark strips and it lent itself to that pattern. Which I do like, but next time I may request a different mix of woods.

Now that I have a good feel for the process I'll probably get more creative on my wife's boat (or mine, if she steals this one) ;-)

You are brave building another.  I would feel more comfortable with a second build but I am not sure I would do that right away:) 

I do like the dark color strips - there are some like the ones right down the center of the boat that look like walnut.  I only had a few strips of that color.  Not long ago, someone posted the redfishkayak site - great pictures of some really nice deck designs.  I wished I had come across this when I was thinking about my deck design but at that point I was a bit overwhelmed with the whole build process.

 http://www.redfishkayak.com/customers%20gallery.htm

 Good luck if you get your boat in the water this weekend.

Airing the varnish...with brewski