Since I'm not a commercial venture having to justify paying a crew of cold, tired workers to haul boats and wait for absent customers to show up during low 60's temperatures with gusty wind and incessant rain, unlike CLC I went to the first day of MASCF. I took my trusty 14 year old WD12 which turned out to be the perfect boat for the occasion.
It's light enough and uncomplicated enough that getting it ready to go required no special prep - just toss in the paddles, PFD, spray deck and flotation bag, put on the cover and put it up on the racks on the truck. The drive across the Bay Bridge was exciting with the cross winds but the boat stayed on. Unloading in St. Michaels was easy except for the wind that kept trying to blow the boat out of my hands. Eventually I found an angle that let me "tack" down the boardwalk to the ramp.
The inner harbor ranged from glassy to millpond smooth, but as soon as I got out from the sheltered areas things got exhilarating and out on the Miles River it was full small craft advisory. Here's where the WD12 design proved its worth.
The stability let me travel broadside-on to the waves. The maneuverability let me surf down the waves without worrying about broaching. And the shape of the hull kept me mostly dry even though I was going through the waves almost as much as I was riding over them going upwind. At the post-paddle sponge-out there was less than 1/4 cup of water in the boat even though I had not worn a spray skirt.
It'd been years since I'd used the WD12 in a small craft advisory and I'd forgotten how well it can handle rough conditions. Anyone looking for a fun, general-purpose boat should consider this design. It's stable, comfortable, easy to get in and out of and equally at home on a millpond or a choppy river during a small craft advisory. Congratulations to Eric Schade on creating a timeless, versatile and fun design and to CLC for making it available as an easy-to-build kit.
Laszlo