Curious about wood fiberglass boats, anyone have experience with them? How durable are they, ease to build, do the dryhatches stay dry if you roll with spray skirt on?

cbj, take a look, under this BOATS heading, at the thread for the Epic 16X, and also at the Forum "One of a Kind". The Epic 16X is a good choice for a lightweight fiberglass/carbon sea kayak; the One of a Kind forum has talk about wooden kit kayaks. I had a wooden stitch-and-glue CLC Patuxent 17 that I built from plans--until I got the Epic 16X, the CLC was my constant companion for 15 years of happy paddling. The Tahe Marine kayaks are very handsome boats, designed to replicate the Inuit West Greenland boats--you should read the Sea Kayaker review for more info. Here in New Jersey, the Tahes are very popular with those for whom rolling and balance bracing are a primary reason for being in a kayak. But you should really try out a lot of boats before making a decision.

I often wonder why I haven't gotten into building a kit boat. Most of the stippers and even the plywood based boats I've seen are very attractive and the price for the kits isn't bad at all.

I know people who have built Pygmy and other wood boats and most of them have had no woodworking experience. I have my own woodworking shop and almost every power tool known to man, but for some reason, I just can't get enthused about doing one for myself.

Anyway, I have been up to Port Townsend, Wa. where the Pygmy kits are built. I think what impressed me most about their construction was how stiff they are for such a light weight.

Now that I think about it, I guess the main reason I haven't gotten into a kit is that there are certain design features that are very difficult to do with wood as opposed to glass. I know that will get some argument, since the basis for most, if not all glass (composite) boats, I think, started with a wood plug.

Whatever you do, I agree with Strange Magic; do a lot of looking and if possible try out as many boats as you can and talk to owners etc. If you are anything like the rest of us, be prepared to change your mind a lot. I never in the world would have thought that I would have the boats I've got now--just a few years ago.