I dont know much about the Shooting Star so I may be out of turn.

But trying to skinny up a strip design I think would be difficult at best. You'd have to re-draw the stations and keep the curves fair. Perhaps you could slice an inch out of the middle, and fair up the result? That would make it a little shorter, too, so you'd have to stretch the stations to account for it. And it might do strange things to the deadrise angles at the bow and stern.

I'd say, build it as drawn and then go from there.

: Russ, you took the words right out of my mouth! Overnighters aren't my thing
: just yet, but I need to keep up with the pack and am having a hard time -
: weakling and all that. I paddle a Sirius Sm now and can keep up well but
: still sit too high in the water, but it goes fast and straight and isn't
: blown by wind -- of course a skeg occasionally helps. The P&H Vela is my
: other boat and it's just not as fast as the Sirius. The SS plans will be
: on their way very soon for study, and I was thinking of altering slightly
: narrower, say 20". Being a novice builder, I'm not even sure that's
: possible (or wise)?

: At the Seattle symposium last year I tried a Sparrow Hawk that was a perfect
: fit, but I like a bit of a skeg, even if it's a fixed one like the SS's.
: However, the best and most fun was a skin boat badairka. I was hooked from
: that point. It was like paddling a potato chip with a feather.

: All you guys are GREAT! Thank you so much for your thoughtful advice. I hope
: to hear of your experiences with the Shooting Star as you progress. I'll
: be a little later starting than you due to impending retirement and move.
: But it's not too soon to plan!

: Susan