Mess Abouts & Cast Away You have asked for it and it is finally here, a smaller, open cockpit, recreational style boat. There are a lot of people interested in a short boat to just "Mess About" in. It has taken a lot of work but it finally finished

Cast Away the fishing version of the Mess About is available too. It has flat rear deck for rod mounts and a well for the fisherman's milk crate that are so popular.

Curlew is what I like to call a fast cruiser. However, top speed was never a consideration in this design, instead it was optimized for the 3 to 4.5 mph range. The speed range most recreational paddlers paddle 95% of the time. This way you get the most speed for your effort.

Ravenswood is another fast cruising hull. It is based on the Curlew hull but has a little better performance in the 3-4.5 mph range. The resistance is a little lower than the Curlew, making it a good choice for most paddlers. If you are into fast paddling this is not the boat for you. At 5 mph the resistance starts to increase dramatically. But this is into sprinting speeds for the average recreational paddler.

Vardo The design goals were for a boat a new paddler would be comfortable in and not outgrow. Large enough for weekend camping and a larger cockpit with lots of knee room.

Vardo has meet those goals. It's performance has been better than expected and I find it to be a good all around boat. I often use mine when I am going fishing on one of the creeks. I have not camped from it but it has the space. I think a couple of Beckson style hatches for access to the ends of the boat and it would be a good touring boat.

This boats can trace its lineage to Greenland hunting boats. Of course it is long removed from it's distant relative but it inspired this design. I have long been a fan of traditional Greenland boats with the long pointed bows. Many people say the long bows were a waste but they actually served a purpose where they were paddled. I just think they look cool!

Available Early 2012

Short Shot as the name implies is just a shorter version of the Long Shot. It has a multi chined (round) hull shape. By going with a rounder shape the boat has less wetted surface area which lowers the resistance. It should be quick boat and easy to paddle.

Long Shot has a multi chined (round) hull shape. By going with a rounder shape the boat has less wetted surface area which lowers the resistance. It is noticeably faster and it has quickly become my go to boat. The low seating position makes it more stable the numbers imply. If you are a stronger paddler this is a boat you want to consider!

Firefly is what I like to call a "Modern Baidarka". It is not true to the 'traditional' Baidarka design but is very much inspired by them. Most single hole Baidarkas were very small boats with low stability and a small ocean cockpit. Not something most paddlers today want. I have always loved the Baidarkas but was always afraid I would never be happy with one so I decide to design my own.

Sling Shot is a performance boat with a single hard chine instead of the multiple chines like Firefly and Long Shot. In order to increase the performance potential the hull is longer and has a narrower water line. It also has a more pronounced V shape. The trade off is it's lower stability.

FreeB is a recreational kayak recreational kayak avaiable in 12 and 14 foot lengths. It has a 36" long coaming making it easier to get in and out of. It is designed to be very stable and should be comfortable for a first timer paddlers. I can imagine this boat being used for fishing or photography from in flat water. I would not recommend it for open water.

STONEFLY This is a boat I built for myself. I wanted a canoe to fish from. I have fished from my kayaks but a canoe makes a a better fishing platform than a sit-in kayak for me. I did not intend to offer plans for this but there was a lot of interest in it.

StoneFly will track harder than most canoes. It is not flat bottomed and it was designed for use on a very large lake where I may paddle some distance. So it's not going to spin around quickly. That is a draw back on smaller creeks but I still use on them, it just takes more effort to turn it around.