:I am hoping to
: end up with a kayak that I can take for leisurely paddles on lakes and
: some fairly mild rivers up to maybe class II. I am not looking to do much
: surfing with the boat.

You might not like my opinion, but recovery yaks paddle like white water yaks. I've never seen someone paddle a ww yak on lakes and you can paddle the 8-12 ft rec yaks with full stems in the bow and stern down class II rapids. With out some kind of keel, it will not go strait and your leisurely paddling will be practice in perfecting your paddle stroke to go strait. The distance of your paddle will be much shorter as much of your energy will be used to keep strait. I find it an interesting build (and I built one, but gave it away when I never paddled it) but it is not a boat that most people will want to paddle. I would add some kind of stems and definatly have a keel.
But this is just one persons opinion...
Scott