Tired of her monopolizing my baidarka, I decided my lovely wife needed a kayak of her own. She's pretty athletic, and we're not interested in anything but casual day paddling right now, so a low volume boat seemed a good idea. We also explore a lot of tiny, twisting creeks and backwaters, calling for something fairly maneuverable.

Anyway, this is what I came up with . . . 15' x 23", about 25lbs. Non-traditional frame, about a one week build, 8oz poly skin, with oil based paint. Lots of initial stability, and good legroom under the (relatively) high deck. A more traditional sized cockpit than what I usually do, so she can paddle drier without a sprayskirt.
Seems pretty good so far. I am comfortable in the boat, but it is overloaded with me on board.

My thanks again to Tom Yost!

Dave Gentry
www.GentryCustomBoats.com