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The Annapolis Wherry offers thoroughbred performance on the water combined with breathtaking grace. The Annapolis Wherry has been turning heads since 1997, with hundreds and hundreds built all over the world. Model: Length: Hull Weight: Beam: Max Payload: Cockpit Size: Annapolis Wherry 17′ 9″ (5.41m) 29.5 kg 96.5 cm 160 kg Open Please note, the…
The challenge with the Annapolis Wherry Tandem was to retain the essential qualities of its famous predecessor, the Annapolis Wherry. Known all over the world for its perfect, quiet elegance, the Annapolis Wherry is one of the most popular sliding seat wherries of all time. Much of its success is a result of what it…
Chesapeakes are built to endure a lifetime of strenuous touring with 4mm-okoume plywood hulls and decks, both sheathed with fiberglass. Watertight bulkheads are standard, as are hatches, deck rigging, adjustable footbraces, and a comfortable seat. One reason so many builders prefer the Chesapeakes is their flexible architecture, unique among kit boats. Experienced builders may customize…
Boats like the Chester Yawl were used as working craft in 19th-century. Efficiency was critical in these human powered craft, so they evolved easily driven hull shapes. Working watermen weren’t immune to good looks, either, so these “livery boats” were often beautiful. The most famous of the type, the “Whitehall” boats of New England, are…
The ClassGlobe 5.80 is a mini class yacht designed for fast, efficient trans-ocean voyages. The first ClassGlobe 5.80 Transat Race was completed in December 2021, see the Globe580Transat facebook page for details. For those who are serious about joining the ClassGlobe 5.80 family, the first step is to BUY the Globe 5.80 Plans via the…
Kayaks are so easily driven that the urge to equip them for sailing must be as old as kayaks themselves. This neat trimaran-conversion kit, first introduced in 1995, has been built in vast numbers. Read this article for the entire 17-year evolution of the CLC SailRig. Model: Length: Hull Weight: Beam: CLC Kayak/Canoe SailRig 10′ 0″…
The Cocktail Class Association has licensed us to produce a kit for their ridiculously nifty 8-foot racer, called the “Skua.” It’s powered by either a 6hp or 8hp outboard, depending on how much the skipper weighs. Less than 200lbs and you are limited to a two-stroke 6hp Johnson or Evinrude outboard—which are ubiquitous and inexpensive. Over 200lbs,…
“Dinghy” is derived from an old Hindi word for a sailing or rowing passenger vessel. In English, a dinghy is a small rowing and sailing boat, often (but not necessarily) serving as a tender to a mother ship. At Chesapeake Light Craft, “dinghy” means “Eastport Pram” and her larger sister, the Passagemaker Dinghy. Both boats are…
The Eastport Pram, with more than 800 built, is one of the most popular small dinghies in the world. Classic good looks, stand-out performance, and ease of construction are hallmarks of this John C. Harris design. Model: Length: Hull Weight: Beam: Max Payload: Cockpit Size: Rowing Draft: Sailing Draft: Sail Area: Eastport Pram 7′ 9″…
The Challenge: Build-it-yourself dinghies have become prettier, lighter, and easier to build, with the 7’9″ Eastport Pram a paragon of the type. A carefully-built Eastport Pram weighs around 65 pounds, though 70 is not uncommon with a bit of extra epoxy and accessories aboard. This is very light for its payload and strength, but it can be…
This fast, shapely wherry is intended for serious sliding-seat rowers who are looking for open-water ability and enough payload for camp-cruising. Model: Length: Hull Weight: Beam: Max Payload: Expedition Wherry 18′ 3″ (5.56 m) 42 kg 91 cm 192 kg Please note, the Sliding Seat rowing unit and sculling oars are not included in…
The Jimmy Skiff II is a super-versatile utility skiff of which you will be hard-pressed to find a better design. The Jimmy Skiff II rows beautifully, sails fast on all points, and handles great with an outboard engine.
Why are Stand-Up Paddleboards all the rage? Because they’re ridiculously fun, like walking on water. CLC made a lot of believers out of folks who have tried out the Kaholo SUP kits at shows across the country. It’s taken five years and more prototypes than we care to count to refine the two Kaholo SUP…
The Lake Union Swift is a 10-foot sailing dinghy and a variant of the popular Tenderly Dinghy. Length: Hull Weight: Beam: Max Payload: Rowing Draft: Sailing Draft: Sail Area: 3m (10′) 68kg 1.32m (52 in.) 204kg 152mm (6″) 762mm (30″) 7.25m2 (78 sq ft.) While Tenderly is optimized for all-around utility as, well, a…
This design is modeled on the “peapods” indigenous to Maine. “Peapod” is a somewhat amorphous term for a double-ended rowing-sailing boat, used for inshore lobstering, fishing, and general utility such as tending lighthouses. Thus the design name: Lighthouse Tender. Designer John C. Harris was inspired by the “Old Sailing Peapod” from Washington County, Maine, detailed…
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The Mill Creek was designed as a wider, shorter, and more stable alternative to the typical sea kayak. It offers the stability sought by nature photographers, fly fishermen, and birders. The most versatile paddling designs in our lineup, the Mill Creeks are true high-performance boats. That is, if high performance is defined as comfort, good…
The stitch-and-glue Night Heron has proven extremely popular with builders, thanks to the high performance, aggressive styling and great looks. Many builders adopt Nick’s multi-color staining approach, with each of the jigsaw-puzzled parts a different hue. This is a neat stitch-and-glue kit, where Chesapeake Light Craft’s CNC technology is taken to its logical conclusion, with…
The Northeaster uses Chesapeake Light Craft’s patented LapStitch process, in which pre-cut planking is assembled quickly with wire “stitches” and nothing more than a pair of ordinary sawhorses. Hull planking is 6mm okoume; the bottom is 9mm, fiberglassed on both sides and up onto the side planking. Bulkheads are laminated together from layers of 9mm…
Designed in 2003 for a proposed youth sailing program, plans for this lively 15-foot sailing machine languished for nearly a decade before being revived and updated for the 2013 launch of a pair of prototypes. Model: Length: Hull Weight: Beam: Max Payload: Sailing Draft: Sail Area: Outrigger Junior 15′ 5″ 260 lbs. 144 in. 450…
CLC’s Oxford Shell debuted in 1996, was an instant success, and has been popular for 22 years. Build-it-yourself boat kit technology has come a long way since then and in 2018 we’re introducing the Oxford Shell II, an evolution of the original. Model: Length: Hull Weight: Beam: Max Payload: Cockpit Size: Oxford Shell 2 20′…
The Passagemaker Dinghy is easy to build, looks great and performs beautifully.
The Passagemaker Dinghy is easy to build, looks great and performs beautifully.
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These completely new designs were developed at CLC in response to a growing constituency of skilled paddlers seeking waterborne sports cars for racing, exercise, or just plain fun. Starting with a clean sheet of paper, we sought out all of the features that make kayaks fast and combined them with CLC’s proven construction methods, creating…
John C. Harris designed this light but sturdy 15-footer. It’s a “crab skiff,” as they’re known in these parts. We’re calling it the “Peeler” after the Chesapeake slang for a local delicacy, soft-shell crabs. Model: Length: Hull Weight: Beam: Max Payload: Peeler Skiff 15′ 2″ (4.62 m) 140 kg 190 cm 590 kg The…
Schade’s line of strip-planked Greenland-style sea kayaks are renowned for sophisticated performance on the water, beautiful lines, and sculptural hull details. But strip-planked boatbuilding is not for everyone. Novice woodworkers and weekend hobbyists with limited free time may be reluctant to take on the complex original Petrel kayak design. The solution is a plywood version of…
PocketShip is a small cruising sailboat of refined model, meant to sail well on all points, provide dry camping accommodations for two adults, and tow behind a four-cylinder car. Examples are now sailing on four continents; as of this writing more than 50 are sailing or under construction around the world. Model: Length: Hull Weight:…
The beautiful 1950s-era runabouts are icons of style in the world of wooden boats. CLC wanted one themselves, so designed this small runabout to echo the grace of the post-war Lyman and Chris Craft runabouts. 30 years of experience designing wood-epoxy composite boats allowed us to create a smooth-running powerboat that is light, durable, and fast….
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CLC’s San O’s will paddle with the best of the contemporary unlimited class paddleboards, and you can build it from a kit for a fraction of the cost. As long as there have been surfboards, there have been surfboard paddling competitions. It didn’t take long for specialized “paddleboards” to be developed, and of course, races…
The lapstrake canoe is an ancient craft. In its recreational form it had already reached a very high pitch of refinement by the 1880’s, in the hands of artisans like J. Henry Rushton. Something about the combination of lightweight utility and easy, graceful lines makes the lapstrake canoe a very desirable creature, indeed. Chesapeake Light…
Finally! A sit-on-top with style – Traditional sea kayaks are elegant and sleek but their cockpits exclude a lot of people who paddle where it’s hot, and almost anybody who has stiff knees or who doesn’t want to be confined in an enclosed cockpit. Model: Length: Hull Weight: Beam: Max Payload: Cockpit Size: Paddler Weight: Sea…
Stitch-and-glue sea kayak design has grown up a lot in the last fifteen years, driven by enthusiastic paddlers who prefer ultralight, beautiful boats that handle like extensions of themselves. For a new line of high-performance sea kayaks, Chesapeake Light Craft commissioned veteran paddler and kayak designer Eric Schade. Eric created the Shearwater range, a state-of-the-art…
Easy to build, easy to row, and easy to sail – the Skerry is a truly versatile boat, and a pretty one, too. Model: Length: Hull Weight: Beam: Max Payload: Cockpit Size: Rowing Draft: Sailing Draft: Sail Area: Skerry 15′ 0″ (4.57 m) 43 kg 137 cm 205 kg Open 12.7 cm 76 cm 56…
The Southwester Dory is a lightweight and highly capable expedition boat, designed for sailing, rowing, motoring, or any combination of the three. Elegant and straightforward to build from a kit or plans, this is an ideal boat for family outings, beach cruising, WaterTribe-style expeditions, or just gliding through the marshes. Model: Length: Beam: Rowing Draft:…
A “teardrop” trailer is a small camper. The name comes from the streamlined shape, and the type dates back at least to the 1930’s. As cars get smaller, storage space more expensive, and recreational time more precious, a new appreciation is growing for the efficiency of really good teardrop campers. Model Length Width Height Basic…
Here’s a beautiful 10-foot dinghy or daysailer that slots between our 7’9″ Eastport Pram and the 11’7″ Passagemaker Dinghy. Model: Length: Beam: Hull Weight: Max Payload: Rowing Draft: Sailing Draft: Sail Area: Tenderly 10 3m (10′) 1.32m (52″) 60kg 190kg 152mm (6″) 762mm (30″) 5.76m2 The Eastport and Passagemaker are “prams,” meaning they have flat…
The CLC Tool Box is the boatbuilder’s interpretation of the classic “tab-and-slot” type, favored by woodworkers for its ease of assembly and flexibility. As the name suggests, the tool box goes together with mortise-and-tenon joints, with two locking “keys” to hold the whole assembly together. And since it’s made of premium marine-grade plywood, just like…
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The Wood Ducks are among our easiest-to-build kits. Panels are precision-cut on our computerized equipment, with puzzle-joints and pre-drilled stitching holes for fast and accurate assembly. Sheathed in fiberglass inside and out, the Wood Duck will withstand real-world abuse on gravel or shell beaches, and will bounce over submerged stumps without harm. Beautiful, easy to…