> Try to decide what kayak you would like to paddle. Do this by paddling as
> many boats as possible. Borrow other builder's wooden boats, go to dealer
> demo days and try a lot of different boats. Rent boats that appeal to you.
> Once you know what appeals to you in commercially available boats it is
> not difficult to find a wooden boat that has many of the same design
> qualities.

I am considering building a boat over the winter myself (it mostly depends on whether I'm going to get access to the space to do so) and have paddled quite a few commercial boats. I have also paddled a friends Pygmy Coho and had the pleasure of paddling a couple of Nick's boats at a sea kayaking symposium in Maine this summer. I'm not sure how feasible it would be to "borrow other builder's boats" because I just don't know that many people that have built boats personally.

Since home built boats are much less common then commercial craft to opportunity to paddle them just doesn't come very easy for most people. If, for example, I said I really liked how a P&H Sirius, or Romany Explorer handled could someone recommend a wood boat design that mimics either of these boats? More useful, to me, would be if someone that built, for example, a Laughing Loon Pachena could compare it to something that was available commercially.