Thanks for the suggestions Mike. Given that I don't have the time to clean my garage, let alone build a kayak, I take your point about buying versus building well.

I did some searching last night upon your suggestion of the pirouette. They are hard to find here in the middle of the Canadian prairies (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan). At least they are in November, though I do have a standing notification set up in the local kijiji ads and monitor a few classifieds looking for kayak gear. Occasionally a long narrow old whitewater kayak shows up, but not very often. If I have to ship it or transport it very far, then any cost savings over an inexpensive build is negated.

I'll keep my eyes open though, just in case.

Cheers,
Bryan