: Hi All,

: I am back from a wonderful trip to MN's BWCA. It is beautiful country.

: My self designed 12' kayak, using the free Bear-Boat design program, is just
: terrible in its tracking, especially when loaded and with the wind and
: waves coming from the rear. . .

: . . .I was carrying so much
: stuff in my little boat that I had to paddle with my legs on top of the
: deck.

Hate to says this but: SIZE MATTERS!

A longer boat gives you more legroom, more cargo capacity -- which does not mean you have to totally fill the thing -- and usually better tracking and faster speed.

: I have a log of my trip but it would be off topic here. I did see two Wolves
: and two mature Bald Eagles. Quite a thrill. Great country.

Go ahead and post the log, but do so in the trips section, rather than the building section of this bbs.

: I will need advise about fixing dings, and scrapes after I recover from the
: trip. I'm not as young as I thought I felt.

Well, I know it's flawed and has some dings in it, but just because I'm such a nice guy I'll make ya a deal -- if you can deliver it to Chicago I'll give ya ten bucks and take the old hulk off your hands.

Seriously, though, fixing dings is just a matter of sanding out the bad spots and putting a patch of glass cloth over it with some resin, and more sanding.
And I'll bet you needed a new reason to buy more sandpaper.

Glad you enjoyed Minnesota.

PGJ