Good points, and I'd like to add a few:

-I doubt that there is much money in providing kits. If a Coho kit cost a thousand bucks, I'm sure that one would get better service. You get what you pay for.

-Likewise, if Pygmy included a bunch of high end extras with their stuff, their cost would rise and CLC would eat their lunch.

-Are we holding Pygmy to a higher standard than other manufacturers? Call Dagger up, complain about their rigging and see how far you get.

- There is a distinct home-built food chain. A person who buys a stitch and glue hard-chine will have different needs and expectations than someone who is building an exquisitely detailed strip-built.

-If there was an incredibly detailed reference out there which included 99 percent of what is known about home-built kayaks, we'd be reduced to assemblers.

-Let's have some fun. Pygmy has pissed me off too, but so what? So has my wife. If you can do better, have at it.

-The best thing that I can say for my Osprey is that the better my skills get, the better I like the boat.

> I tend to agree with Ian that a kit is a starting point for building a
> boat