So why do some designers make things awkward?

Sometimes out of necessity.

The entire design premise of the Frej SG project was to take the popular strip (and now commercial FG) model of Björn Thomasson's and see if it could be replicated in plywood for easier construction. A lot of home builders are scared off by the complexity of strip construction. It would fill a niche in the Frej line-up between the strip and commercial fiberglass versions.

The original Frej has very smooth, organic curves. It is a visually beautiful kayak that is wonderful to paddle in the water. In translating it to plywood we knew there would need to be some comprises. Björn and I wanted the new model to be as close to the original as practically possible using a minimum amount of panels. The hull became a 6 panel multi-chine design. More panels would have created a shape closer to the original but would have been more difficult to cut and assemble. The deck was the most challenging. The shape that best approximated the original was an outer facet with a curved section between them. To maintain the overall premise of the project, accurately recreating a Frej, we decided to only release the design as CNC-cut kits. There would be no paper plans to help eliminate any layout, paper expansion/shrinkage or cutting errors.

I know Nick had similar issues translating his Petrel to plywood. The S&G Petrels are complex designs that are visually and dynamically very striking. He did a wonderful job on them. As such i maintain they probably wouldn't be the best design for a

Using modern tools such as 3D design and CNC cutting help push the boundaries of what is possible with plywood. As a designer and engineer that can be some of the fun!

You are right, Alex. Wooden kayaks don't need to be complicated. I applaud simple, easy to build kayak designs like yours and Chris Chrowhurst's free "Shrike" plans. They are great ways for people to get on the water as easily and often as inexpensively as possible. The more people we get out in well crafted home-made boats the better honestly.

In the end though I think we did pretty good job... :)

Original strip Frej (http://www.thomassondesign.com/en/katalog/mina-kajaker/frej):

Frej SG (http://watercraft.clearstreamwood.com/shop/frej-sg/):

Commercial FG Frej:

(Sorry to hijack the thread...)