Shearwater 17 Hybrid by Chesapeake Light Craft: specs and plans

Shearwater 17 Hybrid

A 17 ft sea kayak that keeps the stitch-and-glue plywood hull of Eric Schade's Shearwater 17 for Chesapeake Light Craft and swaps the plywood deck for bead-and-cove cedar strips. Dimensions are unchanged at 22 1/4 in beam and about 44 lb, for paddlers of 150 to 220 lb and a 270 lb payload. The finished hull serves as the building jig for the deck, so there is no separate strongback. Complete kits, wood-only kits and plans are offered.

Rated intermediate by CLC, since the builder lays out and fairs a strip deck. CLC's estimate is 120 hours, against 80 for the plywood version. Budget 110 to 160. Measured medians from build logs appear below.

What building a Shearwater 17 Hybrid 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

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Median months

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Same type, closest in length.

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