The earlier post about size and displacement being important to consider reminds me of the first strip canoe I built in 2014, a Wee Lassie II from Mac McCarthy's book. I am just over 7 feet tall and when I paddled this canoe my feet and eventually legs would go to sleep since they were up in the bow where the bottom was quite V shaped. I was fine for about 1/2 hour at a time, but then I would have to get out, otherwise when I did get out after a longer stint I would be unable to stand. Falling over backward into a lake is not a terrible experience, but it's a bit inconvenient at times. In 2015 I built a Kite (designed by John Winters) on the recommendation of a much more experienced builder, and it is both much more comfortable and handles much better. It's designed as a high seat solo but I use mine as a pack boat with a low seat due to my size. I've had it out in Lake Ontario in 2-3 foot waves pretty safely, but only for a mile or two at a time. It also does well in rivers or tight areas because it has differential rocker that makes it easy to spin around but it also tracks pretty well. I highly recommend the Kite, especially for taller/heavier people who may not fit in smaller designs nicely.
Zach
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