> Hi there.

> Sarcastic is as sarcastic does, and I don't see any mocking ridicule in
> your comments. You want to make yourself a nice little boat, and you've
> got some serious questions to ask. A little humor along the way can't
> hurt, and I, for one, got a chuckle out of it because I saw myself in your
> comments.

> My fiberglas boat is almost two years old now, and I've mostly had a
> pretty good time with it. I'm just now putting the final touches on my
> first kit boat, and now my old boat looks like a bathtub even though it
> never actually let me down, ever. Now I'm getting myself all excited about
> building #2.

> I personally don't recollect if ALL of your candidates have been mentioned
> in the year or so I've been lurking, but I don't remember any cases where
> any of them were critcized as being inherently flawed. YOUR efforts will
> determine the quality of the assembled craft at least as much as the
> inherent quality of the raw materials, which I propose are roughly
> equivalent between the kits.

> So, for my two cents' worth, the important part here has to do with you
> taking the step to decide rather than dither for months like I did. You
> won't find the answer to the question, "Which boat for me?"
> here, because you make that decision, not us.

> Ted Olinger gets downright metaphysical in the current issue of
> "Canoe & Kayak" magazine. "The Secret Language of
> Kayaks"? Well, I don't know about that. I'm not even sure we can use
> terms like 'reasonable' and 'sensible' in the same breath as 'kayak
> building.' For now, I prefer bastardizing the old Marine's oath to their
> weapon:

> This kayak is mine. There are many like it, but this one is mine ... .

> My apologies to the Corps.

> So go ahead and put your money down, lad; the sooner you do, the sooner
> you'll find how easy it is to sand your fingertips until they bleed.
> Obsession: It's a good thing.