What boat should I choose?

This is probably the most frequently asked question and unfortunately, it is the hardest to answer. The right boat for you will depend on you. It depends on what you want to do, your experience level and your size. Before you ask for a recommendation you will need to think about what you need. Are you an experienced paddler who has gone out in all kinds of conditions, or are you someone who has never paddled before but want to build a boat? Do you like poking around in sheltered little ponds, or do you want to head out to an offshore reef? Are you building this boat for yourself or for a friend? Are your feet so big that you are already wearing boats on your feet, or are you so small that a fresh breeze blows you into the next county?

I'm sorry I'm asking you all the questions when you came here looking for answers, but kayaks are like shoes or boots. The right kayak for you will fit you, some people need heavy-duty hiking boots, other people just want a pair of flip-flops. I don't want to recommend a pair of dancing shoes when you really want basketball sneakers.

If you thought you were going to get your answer with the first item in this FAQ, I'm sorry but I'm going to duck the question and send you on to the other questions farther down the list. If you have determined some of the criteria you are seeking, you can take a look at the Details area of the Kayak Design pages to get some overview information about the different designs.

I paddle on lakes, do I want a sea kayak

Don't let the "sea" in "sea kayak" intimidate you. Kayaks designed to work on saltwater will work just fine on fresh water. If you are paddling on a large body of water where the wind can get strong and you get waves, a sea kayak is probably exactly what you want. If you are paddling on a small pond or very sheltered water, take a look at recreational kayaks. A sea kayak will be more efficient for covering long distances, a recreational kayak will be more maneuverable for exploring in small areas.

I'm a first time builder... which design?

First time builders with no woodworking experience have built just about all of the designs you will find here. But some designs are easier than others. What makes a strip-built design easy to build will be smooth, gentle curves, and a sectional shape with the smallest hollow or concave regions.

The Great Auk family of designs has simple curves and a straight forward shape which minimizes the complication of building.

Within this group of designs you will find a variety of kayaks suitable for different paddling desires. If you want a small recreation kayak or a longer sea kayak, this family probably has something to fit your needs.

If you are looking for a more high performance sea kayak, the Night Heron family is fairly straight forward. The hardest part of this design is the transition from the foredeck to the aft deck around the cockpit. Here the strips need quite a bit of twist which can be difficult.

I have limited this discussion to strip-built designs so far, stitch and glue designs can be easier, especially if you are building from a kit. A stitch and glue kit eliminates much of the woodworking by pre-cutting all the plywood panels. This saves a lot of time and bypasses the potentially tricky task of precisely sawing out the parts. For many people the quicker construction of the stitch and glue design makes it easier to complete because it is easier to fit the project into a tight schedule.

What boat for a beginner paddler?

The primary concern for most beginners is capsizing. Unplanned swims are worth thinking about, but should not be the only criteria. You also want a boat that will not be difficult to handle. A high performance kayak may be a little skittish - always trying to head off and do its own thing. This is because high performance boats respond to the slightest input, even if the inexperience paddler doesn't even know they did it. A well behaved boat for a beginner will not respond as quickly to inadvertent motions including those that might send you for a swim.

This means that boats that less maneuverable will tend to be easier for beginners and novices. For some people, a rudder will help compensate for less skill with steering strokes. But this points out one of the potential downsides of a "beginners" boat; since it does not require the skills to use it comfortably, it may slow down your learning process. This is fine if all you want to do is enjoy a little time out on the water without any aspirations for really becoming skilled. There is really no need to become a highly skilled paddler if you take care to stay clear of conditions which are beyond your abilities. If you intend to work on improving your skills, you may choose not to start out with a beginners boat, instead selecting a design that may be a little over your head at first. After all, you are only a beginner for a little while.

What boat for a large paddler?

There are two ways of being larger, you could be tall and have trouble fitting into most kayaks, or you could be heavy and need a design with more displacement for efficient paddling. Tall paddlers may have trouble getting in and out of small cockpits. This can generally be mitigated by making the cockpit larger. If you are making your own boat, you can control the size of the cockpit opening. The other problem tall people can have is foot room. Big feet at the end of long legs can jam your feet down into the smaller part of the boat. Generally the kayak gets narrower and lower the farther forward you go. Long legs can make the problem of large feet worse as your feet end up in this smaller part of the boat.

Heavier paddlers are often concerned about fitting in the cockpit also. Not to say that this is never a problem, but most people are not really as wide as they think they are. Many men tend to be large above the waist, but still fit into most cockpits without a problem. While women may have larger hips, being generally smaller overall, they still don't have a problem fitting in the standard cockpit.

The bigger concern of larger paddlers is whether they are going to sink the kayak. Forget about it. It takes a lot to sink a kayak. Even the Little Auk would require over 600 lbs to sink it. What you should consider is how efficiently the boat will operate. A boat designed for a smaller paddler will tend to bog down if it is overloaded. You want a boat designed to carry heavier loads efficiently.

Some designs are intended for touring with gear. These designs will work for heavier paddlers, but would not have as much excess capacity for gear. Other designs will maintain their efficiency even when loaded beyond their intended displacement. Don't get too caught up with the design displacement listed for each boat. These are merely a starting point. Most boats will work well loaded beyond their design displacement.

Great Auk

Expedition Single

Guillemot "L"

It would seem that the High Capacity Great Auk would be the ideal boat for bigger guys, and it was in fact designed for a large paddler, but it really needs a big load to operate efficiently. It is really intended for a big paddler who also wants to carry a lot of gear. Unless you truly need a very large boat you may want to consider one of the other designs.

What boat for a small paddler?

Several of my designs are suitable for smaller paddlers. Which boat is really suitable still depends your experience level and what you want to do on the water. Generally you will want to look at the shorter boats, these boats will be lighter and easier to handle on and off the water. The shorter boats will be easier to maneuver.

Smaller paddlers will also more comfortable with narrower, less stable boats. This is because it is easier to reach the water if you don't have to get out beyond a wide beam. Also for many advanced techniques where leaning is desired, a lighter weight paddler will not have the mass to get a wider boat up on edge. Since a smaller paddler has less weight a boat designed for lower displacement will be more efficient and easier to handle.

Many small paddlers will immediately look to the Little Auk as the ideal boat for them, however because it is quite wide with fairly high sides, it can actually be awkward for shorter paddlers. It may be uncomfortable to reach the water over the sides of the boat.

What do the little hand icons mean?

The Details section of the kayak design pages uses some symbols to help you find the boat that is appropriate for you. Each boat is rated in various categories so you can quickly pick out the general characteristics of the boat at a glance. The symbols used are little hand icons giving you a thumbs up or down on whether the design is suitable for a particular use, paddler or purpose.

	Excellent: These designs are very well suited for this purpose.
	Good/OK: These designs will work for this purpose.
	Poor: These designs are not that well suited for this purpose.

Each boat is given a thumbs up or down on the different characteristics listed below. This is not a comprehensive listing of all the possible needs or uses of a kayak, it is instead intended as a course comb that will help you sift through the designs to choose those that are worth a closer study.

Small Paddler	Generally best suited for paddlers weighting about 160 pounds (72 kg) or less and/or less than 5' 9" (175 cm) tall.
Average Paddler	Suitable for paddlers weighing between 150 (68 kg) and 220 pounds (100 kg) and between 5' 5" (170 cm) and 6' 3" (190 cm).
Large Paddler	For heavier and taller paddlers over 200 pounds (90 kg) and/or 6' (182 cm) tall. People with large feet (size 11 and up) may want to look at these boats.
Beginner Paddler	The boats marked "*Excellent" are generally easier for inexperienced paddlers to handle. They tend to have greater stability and/or straighter tracking than the other designs. These boats require less skill to get the most out of them. The boats marked "Good/OK" are within the ability of beginning paddlers, but it may take more practice to get the most out of the kayak. Boats marked "Poor*" should only be considered by beginners if they are willing to put up with a steep learning curve and truly desire the other performance characteristics of the design. But if you really want any these kayak, don't be put off by my rating, you will learn how to handle any of them pretty quickly. The ratings are only relative.
Lakes and Rivers	These kayaks are best suited for paddling in the sheltered waters of small lakes and flat water rivers. These boats tend to be easier to maneuver to explore twisting rivers and small inlets. Kayaks are adaptable enough that just about any design is suitable for sheltered water.
Open Water	These are sea worthy vessels which, with the proper skills, can handle just about anything you throw at them.
Extend Tour	These designs have the volume and carrying capacity to load with a weeks worth of gear and head out. The boats marked "*Good/OK*" have a little less volume and can not carry as much gear.
Surf	These boats can handle the rough conditions of breaking surf. They are designed to fit well for proper bracing and they have the acceleration neccessary to catch and ride a wave.
Fishing	Comfortable fishing requires solid stability so you don't need to think about staying upright while you are trying to land a big one.
Racing	While none of the designs are intended as "flat-out racing machines", these boats should be competative in "recreation or touring" class races.
Ease of Build	Based on an arbitrary 1 to 5 scale where 1 is the easiest and 5 is the most difficult. The hardest boats have been successfully built by complete beginners, but they may have some parts which make them more difficult than the other boats. Generally this is due to a complex shape which may take more time and patience to strip.

I will only be doing day trips... which design?

While the idea of getting in a kayak and spending a week paddling from island to island has a lot of appeal, for many people finding the time to spend a week on the water is difficult. Even if you can set aside a week a year for a kayak tour, there are still about 50 other weeks where you may like to go out for a few hours or the whole day. You may not need a boat that is designed for carrying a lot of gear. You may decide that a boat that is a little bit smaller and lighter may actually be more fun.

A smaller boat will generally be easier to handle. There are several factors contributing to this. A smaller boat may be shorter, this makes it easier to turn. A smaller boat will be lighter which also makes it turn faster and it is easier to carry from the car. A smaller boat will generally fit a little tighter which allows you better contact with the boat.

The Petrel is designed as a day boat. It can carry a paddler over 200 lbs, but will not have much capacity left over for gear. It is efficient, responsive and can be built quite light. It makes a fun boat for day trips in rough water.

If you don't want to venture out in rough water recreational kayaks like the 14' Great Auk is a lot of fun without being as awkward as a larger boat.

Any of the boats for smaller paddlers may be a good choice for a paddler at the high end of the boats weight range to use as a day boat.

I want to do camping... which design?

Touring boats have two requirements, they need to have room for gear, and they need to be able to cover distance efficiently. Room to carry gear is primarily a function of boat volume, to more volume, the more room to carry gear. The volume needs to be configured so it is relatively easy to load and it needs to be distributed such that a heavy load will not cause the boat to bog down.

If you intend to travel long distances in your boat, it is important that the design can carry the load efficiently. There is a difference between being fast and being efficient, but they are related. Efficiency means that you will go the farthest distance with the least effort. Fast means that for a given effort you will go faster. Efficiency is related to speed in that when you put your time and effort in to moving the boat, you will go farther by going faster.

Almost all the my sea kayak designs will work for trips of a couple days, but some of them are well suited for multi-day trips. These boats have the combination of volume and efficiency to work well on longer trips.

Expedition Single

Great Auk

Razor Billed Auk

High Capacity Great Auk