little people…
Greetings from a fellow small guy. I’m 5’7, 165lbs. I have a Perception Shadow which is a downsized version of the Eclipse. It’s 16’5 by 22" wide and has a lower deck for smaller paddlers like us. This boat fits me like a glove and I LOVE the outfitting (seat,footpedals,hatches,rudder). I also have a Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 (17’, 22"). The Tempest has a skeg instead of rudder and is a bit faster than the Shadow. WS also has a Tempest 165 for the smaller paddler. I use the (poly)Tempest for rivers and the (fiberglass) Shadow for flat water and bay/ocean adventures. I love them both.
Seda Swift
My wife loves the Seda Swift. Not too expensive either.
Expensive
wouldn’t be as big a problem if we could stop buying yaks. We have 6 and are building two cedar strip kayaks now. We like the process enough that we will be building more I’m sure. We love the design variations and the inherent speed and handling differences.
We plan a road trip soon to try out as many of the kayak suggestions offered here as possible and, I’m sure, will add a couple more to the fleet.
We just consider ourselves lucky that we’re able to paddle every day and still love it.
strip built
You might look at the Guillemot S. It is the Guillemot downsized 6% for smaller paddlers.
Thanks everyone…
We decided to go with the Eddyline Nighthawk 16’s and the Mid Swift paddles. It will be a couple of weeks until we pick them up and we’re anxious but at least not kayakless.
We’re also going to build a couple of the Pygmy Arctic Terns when we finish the two strip kayaks we’re working on now.
After Riding The Nighthawks
you may want to build the Shearwater Mergansers rather than the Pigmys.
sing
Sing,
Why is that? The Pygmy seems designed for the smaller paddler.
My Guess…
Is that when you get used to paddling the Nighthawks, you’ll want a more challenging boat. The Tern is short and wide. Stable, yes, for a small paddler but the Merganser will probably push you more and feel more “sporty.” Ask Pikabike. She went from her Squall to building a Merganser 16. She would probably enjoy even a narrower, lower volume boat than the Merganser.
sing
Shearwater
I’ve looked at the website and had considered them but got side-tracked by the Georgian Bay (which we’re building now) and all the positive comments on this forum about the Arctic Tern. I also got to see one in action in the video, This Is the Sea, and was very impressed with its manueverability.
Seeing And Trying…
are different. If you in the PNW, you probably will have more opportunities to test ride a Artic Tern. Guess that’s the way to go. I am slightly smaller than you at 5’3" and 140 lbs. Guess it all comes down to what you want to do with the boat. Heck, if I were to get another 14’ boat (aside from my Mystic 14’x23") to play rock gardens with, I’d go for a Episea 14’x20" which is marketed for kids. With it’s greenland lines, slight rocker, hard chines, shallow V bottom and lower deck, I think she be a pretty darn good playboat.
Ah, it’s all subjective after all. 
sing
depends
The Osprey13 is for a small paddler. The AT14 is for a medium sized paddler but the cockpit may seem larger than desired for a smaller paddler or a narrower kayak might be desired for a smaller paddler. That’s where the Merganser 16 comes in as it’s a faster kayak than the AT14 and bigger than the Osprey13.
playboat
I had considered a Tern 14 for my (short)wife, but she found happiness with her Tchaika. Now I’m thinking about a Tern 14 for myself as a “rec” boat – better for fishing and poking around(and carrying!)than the Avocet, and still fun to play in when the weather kicks up.