{"title":"Kayak Chooser - Beginner Expedition","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYou'll be camping out of your kayak for more than a few nights. You might encounter open crossings or especially challenging conditions. You've never done anything like this before, but you're patient.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"shearwater-sport","title":"Shearwater Sport","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eCLC Shearwater Sport\u003c\/strong\u003e offers the perfect combination of lightweight, sharp handling, effortless cruising speed, and an extra-large cockpit for comfort.  The shorter length means easier construction, storage, and cartopping.  It might be \u003cstrong\u003ethe one kayak\u003c\/strong\u003e that does almost everything well.  Watertight bulkheads and flush-mounted deck hatches are standard, which means that many builders go camping in their Shearwater Sports.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll kayak design is a compromise.  For speed, you want the kayak to be long and narrow.  For comfort, you want beam and a big cockpit.  For maneuverability and compactness, a short kayak is desirable.  Artful compromise is the mark of good design, and we feel that designer Eric Schade's Shearwater Sport is a great combination of kayak virtues.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor years, kayak builders have been asking us for a kayak that slots in between the \u003cstrong\u003ehigh-performance Shearwater\u003c\/strong\u003e series and the beamy, \u003cstrong\u003ecomfortable Wood Duck\u003c\/strong\u003e series.  At our in-water demos, the experienced paddlers often made a beeline for the Shearwater 14, because it has the handling and the great looks of the West-Greenland-style kayaks, but its shorter length makes it more maneuverable and easier to use than the long, fast Shearwater 17.  The Shearwater 14, however, is a scaled-down 17, intended only for smaller-statured paddlers weighing less than 150 pounds. That left a lot of paddlers on the shore.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEric has brought his practiced eye and decades of paddling experience to bear on the problem.  Settling on a length of 14'6\", he added just enough beam (25\") to support paddlers over 200 lbs.  Refinement of the underbody, the bow, and the stern allowed him to retain the crisp handling that has sold almost 650 Shearwater kayaks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor paddlers with longer legs who want an easy entry and egress, Eric specified a 34\"-long cockpit.  Standard spray skirts still fit, and the Shearwater Sport is outfitted with all of the features expected in a high-performance kayak:  knee braces, hip braces, and a low aft deck for those who want to roll the boat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe compact Shearwater Sport gives up nothing in cruising speeds to its longer, narrower Shearwater sisters, though it won't be quite as fast in a sprint.  It's still more than fast enough to accelerate onto waves for surfing.  Indeed, many paddlers will build the Shearwater Sport just for surfing, while maintaining longer kayaks for distance work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe payload is ideal for a paddler of up to a 220-pounds plus their gear.  The reduced windage of the Shearwater family means  that small people can paddle the Shearwater Sport, too, so more than just one person in the family can enjoy this beautiful kayak.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Shearwater Sport's construction follows the proven stitch-and-glue process of the rest of the Shearwater family.  A dark sapele deck is standard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Shearwater Sport Hybrid substitutes a cedar stripped deck for the standard sapele plywood deck.  Somewhat more challenging to build, the Shearwater Sport Hybrid rewards the kit builder with a unique and beautiful design.  Builders are provided with a mixture of light, medium and dark cedar strips and may create their own strip pattern, or imitate the design in the instruction manual.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlans for the Shearwater Sport comprise a 33-foot by 3-foot roll of paper with full-sized patterns for every part in the boat.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you fit in this kayak? \u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages\/compare-kayak-specifications\" title=\"Kayaks need to fit right---check your height, weight, and shoe size in this chart.\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eStudy our kayak fit chart.\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chesapeake Light Craft","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50173989224741,"sku":"8807-3616","price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0854\/4839\/2997\/files\/shearwater-sport_new-lead2.jpg?v=1790280601"},{"product_id":"wood-duck-14","title":"Wood Duck 14","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe all-new Wood Duck 14 is a big, versatile kayak in a compact, ultralight, easy-to-build package.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ca href=\"\/products\/wood-duck-10\" title=\"Wood Duck 10\"\u003eWood Duck 10\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"\/products\/wood-duck-12\" title=\"Wood Duck 12\"\u003eWood Duck 12\u003c\/a\u003e have been runaway successes;  kits rarely stay on the shelf here for more than a day or two.  The Wood Duck 10 is a super-light, super-easy-to-use rec boat for anyone up to 200 pounds or so.  The Wood Duck 12 has a bigger payload and enough waterline length to cover miles with the sea kayaks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy having designer Eric Schade add a little more volume, however, we could help out two kinds of paddlers:  those who need a really generous amount of room for comfort, or those who need the space in the cockpit for a toddler or---more commonly---a big dog.  The Wood Duck 14 is also an amazing platform for serious fishing.  Again, the cockpit is absolutely voluminous.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause of its size, we don't recommend the Wood Duck 14 for paddlers under 200 pounds unless there is also a need for the extra-long cockpit opening.  We'd suggest a rudder for lighter paddlers.  The Wood Duck 14 is ideal for all conditions, from placid narrow creeks to open bays.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe amount of cockpit volume indicated a need for watertight bulkheads both fore and aft, so those are standard in the kit to make it easier to self-rescue.  Flush deck hatches are also standard in the kit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"related-content\"\u003eConstruction is as simple as possible in a kayak.  Our computer cuts out the panels and drills the holes for wire stitches.  \"Puzzle joints\" aid in quick, precision assembly.  This is an ideal first boatbuilding project.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConstruction begins by joining the plywood hull panels with “puzzle joints” to reach the 14-foot overall length.  Then the panels are brought together along their edges with stitches of copper wire, with four bulkheads helping to form the hull shape.  The seams are reinforced with thickened epoxy, then fiberglass fabric.  The deck is assembled separately from the hull, then stitched and epoxied in place.  All of the copper wire stitches are removed prior to the final sheathing of fiberglass fabric.  Finally, the cockpit is laminated in place and the front and rear hatches assembled.  A comfortable seat and footbraces, included in the kit, are mounted after the hull has been varnished. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlans for the Wood Duck 14 include full-sized patterns for every part, the comprehensive step-by-step instruction manual, and of course materials lists and finishing detail.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you fit in this kayak? \u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages\/compare-kayak-specifications\" title=\"Kayaks need to fit right---check your height, weight, and shoe size in this chart.\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eStudy our kayak fit chart.\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chesapeake Light Craft","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50173990043941,"sku":"9206-2688","price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0854\/4839\/2997\/files\/wood-duck-14_new-lead.jpg?v=1745955259"}],"url":"https:\/\/clcboats.com\/collections\/kayak-chooser-beginner-expedition.oembed","provider":"Chesapeake Light Craft","version":"1.0","type":"link"}