I would suggest you do make a set of drawings for this design. I have looked at the offsets for MacGregor's original "Rob Roy", and they are nearly identical. As you know from the book about Henry Rushton, adding spray skirts to the bow and stern would give you a fair replica of the boat that introduced the world to canoe/kayak cruising 150 years ago.

A lot of people who live on Vancouver Island own kayaks, but they rarely use them because the damn things are so heavy and complicated. I'm out on the water paddling while $3000 kayaks take up space in garages. When I do encounter the odd kayak, I notice that I'm usually traveling faster with less effort. About an hour ago I was watching a man get into his Greenland skin-on-frame kayak at our nearby launching ramp. He needed a shoehorn and a weekly yoga class to get himself jammed into the cockpit. This is worth the trouble if you are a Greenland seal hunter who must paddle in high winds and rough seas. If it had been a Geodesic Airolite kayak, he would have torn the fabric on the barnacles. To get into Lighten-Up, I walk into 8 inches of water, float the boat between my legs, sit down, and paddle away.. When I come to shore, I do the above sequence in reverse. Sometimes I wait for a friendly wave to help lift me to my feet.

PS I haven't had a chance to try paddling Lighten-Up with my wife. I'll let you know how the boat goes as a double. My plan was to simply turn the boat around, hoping I have the thwarts in the right place to give us both back support.

I've been experimenting with turning techniques. It seems more and more that a sculling stroke is the answer. With a European style paddle, the technique for a right turn would be as follows: 1)Move your right hand out to the place where the loom meets the blade. 2)Move your left hand to the center of the loom. 3) Take the necessary number of long sculling strokes on the left side. 4) Re-center the paddle and carry on in your new direction. The sculling stroke is only necessary for tight turns. Anyway, it works effectively with this arrow of a boat.

Maybe that could be the name you are looking for.... The "Snowshoe Arrow".

I was out today in 6 to 8 knots of wind, with waves at one foot height, and swells running to two feet. Lighten-Up seemed to think the whole thing was damn good fun, tracking flawlessly on every point. Going directly into the waves, she just rises up and lets them pass. Today I discovered how much she likes to surf. Paddling down the face of two- foot swells, she accelerates into planing mode with two hard pulls on the paddle. Not a hint of a wish to broach. It was such fun I laughed out loud.

I'm using my forward thwart as a footbrace. I like having something very solid to push against with my feet. This allows me to produce a strong powerstroke that comes up from the leg, through the torso, and out along the shoulder. Boats with rudders have squishy foot-braces, so they win in easy steering, but lose in ergonomics.

Since it turns out that the boat is such fun in a blow, I've been trying to figure out the best way to install some flotation. I'll send photos when I figure something out. I doubt there is any way to get back aboard if I'm dumped, so the biggest part is probably going to be survival by wetsuit. I may carry flippers and just be sure I can swim ashore.