: Hello all,

: I'm considering building my wife (5'8" 120 lbs.) a wooden kayak, and I
: have the ulterior motive that I would like to use it as a
: surf/rockgarden/play boat off the coast. This would be a first for me, and
: I am far from an expert woodworker, so plan to go with stitch and glue kit
: project.

: I'm currently looking at the Pygmy Arctic Tern 14 and the CLC Chesapeake 14.
: Do any of you have experience with either model (building and performance)
: that you could share. Or, are there other models I should be considering?

: Thanks in advance for your comments. I really admire the energy and
: enthusiasm for wooden boats that I see on this board, and suspect that as
: soon as I get the first one built, I'll be dreaming about the next. I also
: admire the way glass kayakers are tolerated by the cellulos-enhanced crowd
: when we are together on the water.

If you are much larger than she is, 10lbs over , or over size 8ft at 5'6" or so then the AT14 would be a better bet, if "play boat" means manueverability then definatately the AT14. If you are serious about the rock garden use with the possiblity of hitting rocks then you might consider a couple yards of 6 oz s-glass for the bottom. Shearwater might have a 15ft boat that I'm guessing would be a fast and slightly tippy boat but I haven't paddled it. How big are you? -Lee,CLC