: I am looking to build my first boat later this year. I'd like something 17
: feet, plus, that's responsive. I've admired the Night Heron on paper,
: never paddled it, and think either the stitch and glue or strip built
: versions would be fun to try. I have several questions.

: 1. I'm 5-8 and about 130. The Night Heron specs indicate the lower end
: paddler size at 150. Will I have a decent fit in this boat? (I paddle a
: Romany LV that is pretty close to perfect size wise, but still slightly
: loose in hips and thigh braces.)If not, can it be modified? Or what are
: better options?

: 2. I have never built a boat before, have limited construction experience,
: but really want to try this. I'm looking for a week-long (or longer) boat
: building class with an excellent patient teacher so I can learn, build,
: and go home with my basically finished boat. Is anyone aware of
: somewhere/someone in the Southeast US that will teach Guillemot or CLC
: kits, in particular Night Heron? I know there's Annapolis, but was
: thinking further South if possible.

You might look at One Ocean Kayak's plans, they have several boats that will fit you well. The wood strip kayaks btw will generally take much longer to build than S&G, not necessarily any harder to build, just time consuming.

I wouldn't lock yourself into a length though, a smaller lighter paddler can keep up easily with longer boats with heavier paddlers in them, specially at a cruising pace. Not many kayakers will paddle at a pace faster than that for any length of time. And shorter lighter boats can be far easier to paddle at these speeds than a longer one.

Bill H.