: 18 feet, all of it (well, nearly) waterline, and no rudder! How
: maneuvrable is She? And how fast?

Maneuverability - when edged, she turns as easily as my plastic CD Storm. Adequate, but definitely not a quick "play boat". Shorter & more rockered boats can definitely be cranked around easier.

Speed - faster than I can do justice to. I'm way too out of shape to keep her at hull speed for any length of time (been building too much, not paddling enough! ). In the recent Sea Trek Regatta, I did an 8.25 nm course in 2 hours, and I was intentionally paddling at "cruising pace". Could have gone on another hour or two at that rate without a break. (Ok, to be honest I had a bit of a boost from the tidal current running through Raccoon Strait, but that also threw up some fun little tide rips to keep things interesting as well. And I had to work against the building current for two of the other legs of the race.)

: ps. John Dowd reported that a particular bright yellow colour was found to be
: very attractive to sharks. "YUM-YUM-YELLOW" it was called. Is
: this perhaps the one you are planning to use for the bottom ?

My plastic boat is yellow, but my aesthetic sense is a bit different on the wooden one. It'll be light blue. Won't look like a log or a whitecap when capsized, and should be light enough to show up reasonably well in dim light. Same color as the interior and the rub rails.

My wetsuit is woodland camo pattern in shades of blue. So if I'm swimming, the sharks shouldn't be able to see me at all!