: Thanks Shawn. You have built a few, did you just build cockpits as per plans?

For the Chesapeake 17, I did, for the Guillemot 18, I stretched the plan size 2".

Both are about 17" x 33" outside.

: Have you had any trouble with any particular shape, like straight sides that
: the skirt pops off of?

Neither is very radical, but the Chesapeake's coaming sides are straighter.

: This gentleman at Mountain isn't proposing one size
: fits all, he seems to want to limit options and would like to see cockpit
: and coaming designs that complement the skirts.

I think that's great. He's not necessarily only looking at something to benefit himself--the suggestions he is making would make all cockpits and sprayskirts fit each other better. Designers who make coamings with perfectly straight sides might have holes in their heads...

: I am not going to go very far with this, I would probably be happy if I knew
: there was a production kayak out there with the same size and shape
: coaming as my home built.

16" x 30" is a pretty "standard" or average size. If you had a coaming that size with gently curved sides, I don't see how you could go wrong.

: At least I could leave a store with a skirt I
: knew fit and wouldn't come off at the wrong time or stay on when it needs
: to come off.

: I don't think that it's necessarily a good fit just because
: you can get it on but frankly, I don't have the experience to comment that
: much.

Well, at least your intuition is right...go with your gut!

Shawn