Kirk,

I've built three of these things, and the sheer gets lower on each one. I really like the lower sheer, but I've got a big Pygmy Arctic Tern for camping.

My bother took his plywood Walrus camping and had adequate room for the weekend's gear. His kayak doesn't have all of the internal frame members though. The sheer on his is pretty close to specs, but it has a flat deck everywhere except the cockpit. The last 1-2 feet on the ends is also sealed off and used strictly for flotation.

Don't worry so much about it fitting others, you are the primary paddler of the kayak. Your main concern should be, will it fit you, and the gear you plan on taking with you. Just remember, the floor beams take up a lot of room inside.
I did lower the cockpit floor on both skin versions. On the first one, I cut the tops of the cockpit floor beams to match the deadrise (angle of the hull) at the beams.

On my last one I used bent ribs in place of the floor beams in the cockpit. This maximizes floor space but it lost some strength where the ribs end at the chines. I have had to repair it some.
Mike

: Greetings all, progress on the Walrus is going well. This week I will be
: installing the gunwales which is why Im posting.

: I need to know if any body has opinions on the locations for the gunwales
: given as standard in Putz's book. Im 5'9" tall and wear a 9.5"
: shoe. I expect they are fine for somebody like me but what about the
: people who invariably will borrow the boat who wear a size 11? Im thinking
: perhaps I should raise the height slightly but am not sure. Its more
: complicated also as I plan to make the cockpit of the keyhole type. I also
: would like to use the boat for camping occasionally. I know that the
: gunwale height is not the end of the story since the deck beams can be
: made higher or lower as well.

: So if anybody has any good insight as to how the standard gunwale height
: works out in practice please let me know.

: Thanks in advance. Im really enjoying this project even working outside in
: the 107 degree weather it is great. Ive had no major mishaps yet and am
: learning so much. The first few joints I did were probably more epoxy than
: wood but Im getting the hang of it now.

: Kirk