Explore our rowing boat kits ranging from traditional recreational craft to lightweight designs intended for efficient rowing and everyday use.
Showing all 18 results
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…
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…
“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.
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…
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…
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.
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…
A few years ago, Denman Marine approached a local firm to produce a Sliding Seat Rowing Unit that could be manufactured in Tasmania for the Australian market. The brief was to produce a rowing unit of high quality that could be “dropped in” to all of Chesapeake Light Crafts designs that are capable of accommodating…
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:…
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…