Design
Mystery
Designed by Nick Schade
A 20 ft strip-planked racing kayak by Nick Schade, sold as plans and kits by Chesapeake Light Craft. It is shaped to be as efficient as possible at race pace while fitting the United States Canoe Association sea kayak touring class, and its 20 in flared beam meets the Blackburn Challenge sea kayak rules. The hull has very low wetted surface, tracks hard and is best steered with a rudder. CLC lists 40 lb, and says a light racing layup can bring the bare boat to 26 lb. It is tender and meant for experienced, athletic paddlers.
CLC rates it advanced and estimates 200 hours. It uses 1/8 in deck strips and 3/16 in hull strips, so the kit is a special order. Real hours from logged builds are below.
What building a Mystery actually takes
Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.
Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.
Builds of this boat
Nobody has logged a Mystery here yet.
If you are building one, yours becomes the reference: the page the next person building this boat finds when they search for it. One photo and one line is a valid first entry.
Start the first log of this boatBoats like this one
Same type, closest in length.
| Design | Plans from | LOA | Logs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guillemot Double | Chesapeake Light Craft | 20′ 0″ (6.1 m) | 0 |
| Sea Kayak Two | Glen-L Marine | 19′ 9″ (6.02 m) | 0 |
| Orca 21 | Bateau | 20′ 9″ (6.34 m) | 0 |
| Chesapeake Double | Chesapeake Light Craft | 21′ 0″ (6.4 m) | 0 |
| Chesapeake Triple | Chesapeake Light Craft | 21′ 0″ (6.4 m) | 0 |
| Expedition Single | Chesapeake Light Craft | 19′ 0″ (5.79 m) | 0 |