Hi Rob, perhaps I should have said the NORTH STAR is my easiest boat in relation to directional BEHAVIOUR. Although one does not fully realise this until one has used it for a while and relaxes with full trust in it. It feels different, so you expect surprises, but never get them.

The pole dancer is very different. It is based on a Dyson 17. You can find the pdf online.

I lengthened it by 18 inches and rounded off the multi chines to a natural curve. The rear sheer and deck is also quite a bit lower than the original, which is probably why John A thought it looked stern heavy.

It has substantially less rocker than the NS, the fore-foot is a lot deeper, and the hull section is somewhat less parabolic than the NS, with a wider V section and more pronounced chine section.

It also probably has more volume than the NS.

It would not be a suitable boat for a smaller person, but it suits me and I use it a lot. For its size it edges quite nicely too.

It is quite fast in all directions. Probably a bit quicker than the NS upwind and cross wind, but not as fast downwind, where the NS will pick up smaller waves better and hold the line just as well and stay on the wave longer. It also likes rough water.

If I were to do the Pole dancer over I would bring the fore sheer and deck down somewhat, and lengthen it to only18 ft. At my age the room inside is nice, but I am quit taken by my greenland paddle and lowering the deck would be better for the GP. Otherwise it is a nice hull shape. For its purpose.

I hope I am not out of order by saying this, but I think the PERFECT SENSIBLE biadarka (the kind that someone might mass produce) lies somewhere between Your North Star and pole dancer, with the bias toward the NS. I suspect you may already have filled that niche with one of your other baidarka designs though. Having said that, I wouldn't sell the NORTH STAR, because the main difference between the two is the rocker, and that is the very feature that make the NS such a fun boat to use and what makes its handling so distinctive.

You already have my thoughts on this, feel free to share them if you wish. These are largely subjective sensation driven observations derived from a specific kind of sea state, so they do not necessarily apply in general.

I would recommend the NS as a fantastic all round rough water craft for large men, especially if they enjoy following seas, (who doesn't?), and is the one design that I am happy ro recommend to big beginners, one of whom took my advice and was very happy, knowing that it will look after them in the beginning, but also grow with their potential. But it may not necessarily be the only boat for someone who paddles placid rivers. It would be fine, but there are so many options that there would be lots of other craft that would fit the bill as well.

The Pole dancer is nice to have in my collection, and gets used a lot, especially if I am with beginners, because it is a great rescue platform, and very good in rough water, so I can give all my attention to watching out for other paddlers, but.... If I could only have one.... It would still be the NS.

Part of the reason I love the baidarka shape, especially the NS, which is quite uncompromising in its baidarka-ness, is that you can't buy them. Not factory produced. There is the odd one that may have a couple of the cosmetic features, but the hull shapes are dummed down. If you want a real one, you have to make it yourself. There are not that many functional things that one can say that about. And it makes me quite unusual in the crowd. Silly perhaps, but who doesn't want to be different and look a bit cool?

If I could have only one boat, of all those I have built over the years, just for myself, then I guess you still have the distinction of being its designer. Well done. But don't get too prideful, I will make more, so that verdict may change :-)

Et