: When I pull up to the beach in my S&G, people want to see it.
: I've seen beaches covered with manufactured boats and it is like
: they don't exist, but when my boat is on the beach, it draws
: people like crazy. I've had random little kids run up and hop in
: the seat gleefully. I've had total strangers giving me thumbs up
: while driving down the freeway and have been asked on more than
: one occasion if my boats were for sale.

: I've paddle more than a few manufactured kayaks and they just don't
: feel the same. They aren't as comfortable, fast or responsive as
: my S&G. My wife and I have now been on several week long
: expeditions in our kayaks and they still look like new.

: There is also the knowledge that comes with the construction. You
: learn a lot about what a kayak should feel like and look like
: when you build it yourself, to say nothing of the repair ability
: of one you build yourself.

: Eric M.

I like the repairability of making my own boats too. My son took my Iggy on Lake Michigan to South Manitou Island and was playing in a rock garden when an 8 foot rogue pumped him almost straight down into some rocks. It ground off half of the external ash stern and gouged the fiberglass along 4 feet of the bottom, but it did NOT hole the boat. He kept paddling that day, and when he brought the boat back home he sheepishly told me what happend. Took me 4 hours to fix it, and you can't tell it was ever damaged! I took the opportunity to re-varnish with Perfection Plus 2 part poly, looks awesome! Of course, I am now helping him build his own boat, he can fix it himself next time :-)