Shearwater 16: builds and build times

Shearwater 16

A 16 ft 2 in stitch-and-glue sea kayak designed by Eric Schade for Chesapeake Light Craft, one of a family of West Greenland-style hulls with tumblehome sheer panels, a cambered sapele deck and flush hatches. It is 23 in wide, about 42 lb, and suits paddlers of 120 to 190 lb with a 240 lb payload. The page describes quick edged turns with firm tracking in surf. Sold as a kit or as plans with manual.

CNC-cut finger joints replace scarfs and nearly all stitch holes are pre-drilled, so CLC rates it a beginner build at an estimated 80 hours. Budget 80 to 120 for a first kayak. Measured medians from build logs appear below.

What building a Shearwater 16 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.

Build logs

Launched

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Median hours

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Median months

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Builds of this boat

Nobody has logged a Shearwater 16 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.

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Boats like this one

Same type, closest in length.

Design	Plans from	LOA
Shearwater 16 Hybrid	Chesapeake Light Craft	16′ 2″ (4.92 m)
16' 1" Abenaki	Newfound Woodworks	16′ 1″ (4.9 m)
16' Seekajak	Boatkits	4.9 m (16′ 1″)
16' Chestnut Kruger	Newfound Woodworks	16′ 0″ (4.88 m)
Guillemot "S"	Chesapeake Light Craft	16′ 0″ (4.88 m)
Petrel Sport SG	Chesapeake Light Craft	16′ 0″ (4.88 m)