My current boat.

I spent three months of the summer of '09 looking for a kayak design.  After picking one (as outlined in this article), and ordering the plans, the reality of being barn/shop/garageless set in, so I picked up a Wilderness Systems Alto from someone on Craigslist.  Looks just like the one in the bottom of the image below, only a good bit lighter colored, probably from age..

There wasn't a cover for the day hatch, and getting one from Perception/WS wasn't an option at the time, so I replaced it with a clear Beckson hatch of the same size - to get the best fit, I just replaced the whole thing, including the housing.  I didn't replace the little bag that made it a "day hatch" (a/k/a "cat bag"), though I thought about it.

After the first day paddling, I ripped out the backrest and rather cheesy seat cover.  Way too high and slippy.  I used a hunk of polyethelene barrel cut so size and shaped with a heat gun to make an adjustable backband that will let me do a layback.  This keeps my back from being a huge problem when I paddle for long distances. 

To solve anticipated hatch leaking, I made a "spray skirt" of sorts for the hatch from coated nylon; I will probably order a neoprene one from TopKayaker or similar.

She paddles great in lakes and tight situations. As noted in the paddling.net reviews, she has a lot of rocker for a boat this length, and a tendency to weathercock in an even light breeze.  I may put a skeg or real rudder on her some day.

I've paddled her in blackwater, marsh, and semi-open ocean, over some pretty tough oyster bars and through some tough, windy weather with small breakers - bad enough the folks on the dock were telling us to get off the water when I landed.  For these uses, I would recommend this line (Piccolo, Shaman, Alto).  I don't see doing much extended touring in her without a rudder or skeg; it's too inefficient in any significant wind.

All in all, I figure I'll keep her.