> Hoping to build a kayak later this winter and trying to decide on whether
> to go with CLCs Chesapeake Lt 17 or their West River 164. Any thoughts or
> comments or comments from builders or users of either of these boats,
> likes, dislikes, conditions used in, etc. would be appreciated. Would also
> be interested in other similar stitch/glue type designs, any
> recommendations on other designs?

I wanted to build my first kayak kit a few months ago and weighed the ads and disads of Pygmy vs. CLC, and went with a Pygmy Osprey STD. The boat is absolutely beautiful, and quite easy to build, even for an accountant! This is a multi-chine hull as opposed to CLC hard chine, but it was not difficult at all. The fiberglass resin is System Three (as opposed to CLC's MAS) and it is quite simple, I had no amine blush problems whatsoever, and the weather was a bit cold here in VA while working on it. Definitely consider the Pygmy-it costs a bit more (bulkheads and hatches are not included in the full kit (CLC's includes it), but it's worth the extra $