Ok...now the hard part. What type of boat do I want? I like just about all small boats. I've owned a number of small boats over the years including an

o Old Town 13' Discovery canoe,

o 15' Mike Snook's Merry Wherry rowing shell,

o John Welsford's 8 foot Tender Behind,

o Selway Fisher's 12' dory,
o 12' home designed sailing skiff, and a

o Joel White's 12' Pooduck Skiff

That's quite a range and I liked them all!

Which ones did I use the most? The canoe, the skiff I designed and the rowing shell. Why? Because the others were heavy, which required either breaking my back to pull them up on top of the rack, or a trailer which limited their use to where ramps exit.

How will I use it? For fly fishing, photographing wildlife, and slow explorations of ponds, slower rivers, and marshes. On nice days my wife will keep me company. Sometimes I'll be in Puget sound among the wakes of motorboats.

I love canoes but I'll be by myself most of the time. Rowing is so much better for making miles, exercise and tracking in a crosswind than steering alone from the stern of a canoe. Rowing shells are good for mileage and exercise, but too unstable for comfortable fishing.

I'm looking for something I can row, light enough to throw on top of a car and carry a small adult passenger.

I've made a decision, but will spend a few post going through what I'd been thinking the past few weeks.

Ray