I'm beginning construction of a skin on frame kayak following George Putz's book and I've got a few questions to those who might be able to answer.

My back porch is layed out in such a way that getting an 18.5' kayak off it is going to be a *real* close call. 17' would be no problem. The volume of the 18.5 ft boat he gives is considerably greater than the 17. This is going to be used for a single paddler (myself), and possibly up to 50# of gear strategically stowed. I'm 6'6", 275 lbs. I'd like to build the 18.5' boat, even though the lines seem a little tubby, but space seems to be dictating 17'.

Question is: will the 17' boat be adequate for my needs, capacity wise? I could shorten the 18.5' model, but that would result in an even tubbier kayak. Any suggestions? What about scaling up the 17' by 10% and shortening that to 17.5' or so?

Comments? Suggestions? Advice?

Thanks,
Alex Wolfe