Bill,

I suggest that you try the plywood Walrus, I know of one that is 17' x 22", that looks like a sleek Queen Charlotte. I'm also making a skin verion that is 17'8" x 20.5". The only problem is that you can't paddle the Plywood version right now. It is being varnished. I have it in Tacoma right now. Normally my brother Curt has it. You would have to talk to him about testing. I don't know how convienient it will be though, as he lives in this small town called Kingston, about three blocks from the ferry. The kayak will be back up therer in about a week. I'll see if I can work something out so you can check it out. It is the kayak in the center of the pic below. Making madifications for to deck height, for your feet would be easy.

Mike

: Hi, folks; I've been lurking and reading archive posts for some time now.
: This is a great resource! Thanks to everyone here. About me: I'm just
: finishing my first boat (Pygmy Goldeneye-HI, for my size 13 feet), and
: live in Kingston, WA.

: My question is this (and I sort of suspect a resounding "No!!!!!"
: as an answer ...): If there is a kayak design I really like, except I wish
: that it was about 1.5 inches narrower (based on test paddles of completed
: boats), is it possible to just buy the kit, then trim .75" off of the
: outside of each keel panel and trim the side panels as needed to fit the
: altered keel? I'd like for this to be true, but as I said, suspect that
: this might have unforseeable effects.

: Any ideas or comments? The kit I'm considering this on is a Pygmy Queen
: Charlotte. I love the hard chine, flat deck, and Greenland-influenced
: design, and would like something around 17', but would like the boat a bit
: narrower.

: I guess my fall back would be a North Bay XL; CLC just informed me that they
: could add 1" additional deck height for a small fee, which would let
: me fit my feet (I'd also substitute the standard CLC cockpit for my
: 6'4", 220lb frame ...). However, this boat is 18'6", which is
: longer than I really want ...

: Best Regards to all of you!
: Bill Graham