Like you, I have spent a good bit of time in canoes, but had never been in a kayak until the Newfound Woodworks Rendezvous last September. I tried Nick's Guillemot then and loved it. I built one last winter!

It is a great kaykak and is beautiful. After just a couple of trips in it, you will feel very comfortable. I bet that you will be very happy with it.

Mac

>Thanks for reading this... I've got 2 questions... I've been seduced by
> Nick's book ... I've gotta build a strip kayak! The woodworking is no
> problem for me, and I've been scouring all the wonderful resources on the
> net.... My problem is this...I've fallen in love with the design of the
> Gullimot, but since I haven't kayaked much ( do a lot of canoeing tho) i
> am sort of worried about the width. Is this to much for a beginner to
> handle? Am i going to hate myself and give up? Should i consider a wider
> boat like the Georgian Bay from Loon? I don't get out that often so a long
> learning curve is a turn-off. Second, I have a BIG 10 year old who also
> wants a boat to go out with daddy... (in for a penny in for a pound) What
> length shoud a kayak for a kid be? Obviously( i think) he need a different
> design than the Gullimot. I dont really see too much difference between
> Nick's Great Auk and many similar boats. Can this be scaled down for him?
> Or is there a better choice? I'd really appreciate hearing your opinions
> on these matters. I am not looking for construction help(yet) just help
> choosing WHAT to build.

> ( a special PS to Nick Schade: What a GREAT book what a GREAT website what
> GREAT boats...thank you!)