: Naw, I don't plan to build another one soon, though I recently bought some
: tools (spokeshave etc.) so I can carve a Greenland paddle to my size.
: Finding a nice WRC 2x4 looks like it's going to be a challenge, though. I
: bought a slab of Douglas fir thinking I'd use that (no knots whatsoever,
: and the grain looks really good) but man, is it HEAVY. I also read that
: its splinters tend to become "septic"...sounds like it'd be
: nasty to work with. Think I'll save it for some other use.

I was walking through RONA yesterday and spotted a knotless WRC 2x4x10' for only 10$ CDN. I'm stopping by there tonight to pick it up. I gave away the GP I carved out of WRC this summer. The person who got it was a paddler I met who was using two natty old canoe paddles wingnutted together. His paddling clothes were literally rags but he was happy to be out there so I helped him out a little. I carved the blades on that GP flat so I was ok to lose it for a good cause. Flat blades make a lot of noise. I'll carve the new one with thicker more rounded blades.

: The reason I hesitate on building another boat is that I'm not entirely sold
: on the hard-chined hull of S&Gs. The kayak carves turns soooo nicely and
: tracks well, but I don't like how it slapslapslaps the water if I sit in
: one place and hipflick it from one side to another. (Returns easily to
: upright, though.) Silly, I know. I guess I worry about what that slapping
: means in rough water--gotta wait for late spring to find out. My
: soft-chined plastic yak has more of a slippery, "rolly" feel
: when doing the same thing, which I like.

Donnie, at Waters Dancing sells the Solace series of kayak that has more chines than my Lightning. The effect of more chines (4 in all, if I remember correctly) is that when finished it looks way more rounded and feels so. The Solace even has better primary and secondary stability that the Lightning. Maybe that's a way to go without getting into stripping. Then again, there ain't nuttin wrong with a little stripping if it's done right. Sorry for being a bad influence - that's my parent's fault, they made me.

: Yeah, I know the solution is to build a strip hull. Now, how can I possibly
: learn from one build if I change to a different type next time?!

Don't you see how this works - you just came up with a new reason to build.

;-) Robert N Pruden