I did it! I finally did it! I launched my Cormorant 16 last night. Whew!

I cut the hull panels in December, 2000. Glued the scarfs January 2001. Then the boat was mothballed and didn't move from my rafters until February of this year.

I pulled it down, dusted it off, and started stitching. In between fits and spurts, it finally got done. I would work hard on it for a month, then be distracted with other things for a month. But I did finish the boat!

Thanks to Grant Goltz for a great design. I had only one sheet of 4mm okoume left over from my Chesapeake project in 1998, so I figured I'd turn it into a S&G boat. There was just enough wood for 3" tall side panels. So...I didn't have enough wood left to implement either Grant's cambered or multi-paneled decks, so I decided to strip it. I really like the way it turned out. The aft deck is 7" above the keel, making for easy laybacks. With Mike Allen's recessed coaming idea, the top of coaming is only 7.25" above the keel...so it's pretty out-of-the-way.

Grant, if you're interested, I can trace my decks if you'd like to have the design.

Photos? I launched the boat at 6:00pm at 48º N...it was dark! No beer, so I poured some hot water from my thermos over the bow...the steam was neat in my headlamp.

How did it paddle? Beautifully! I would recommend this kayak to anyone looking for a fun day tripping/overnight boat. It tracks like a longer boat than 16', but performs nice leaned turns. Secondary stability is HUGE. I could easily pull the outside chine out of the water and put the coaming under with just a J-lean, and hold it easily.

I'm excited to play with rolling it more when the air warms up or I get a tuilik.

I didn't have hatches or bulkheads yet, so I loaded drybags and float bags through the cockpit. This was easy and convenient, but I also like the convenience of a day hatch while underway, so I think the boat will get hatches & bulkheads. My legs did fall asleep on a 1-mile paddle, so I need to install a custom glass seat...which will preclude loading anything through the back of the cockpit anyway.

Shawn

(photo link will be dead this morning--I'll upload a picture about 1:00pm MDT (3:00pm BBS time)