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14' Great Auk Kayak
Sale
Dan T. paddling his Great Auk 14.
Sale
A woman enjoying a paddle in a Great Auk 14 sea kayak.
Sale
14 Foot Great Auk
Sale
Paddling a Great Auk 14 sea kayak built by Fred D. on Moses Lake in Washington State.
Sale
Custom details on a Great Auk 14 in the workshop of James R. of Woolwich, Maine.
14' Great Auk Kayak Thumbnail
Dan T. paddling his Great Auk 14. Thumbnail
A woman enjoying a paddle in a Great Auk 14 sea kayak. Thumbnail
14 Foot Great Auk Thumbnail
Paddling a Great Auk 14 sea kayak built by Fred D. on Moses Lake in Washington State. Thumbnail
Custom details on a Great Auk 14 in the workshop of James R. of Woolwich, Maine. Thumbnail

14-Foot Great Auk

Builder Testimonials

A compact and versatile rec kayak with enough length to keep up with the average run of kayaks. A great first-time strip-planking project.

  • Skill Level Intermediate
  • Estimated Build Time 150 Hours

Builders will benefit from some woodworking, epoxy, and fiberglass experience. Compared to CLC's "Beginner" projects, there will be more cutting and fitting of parts, and documentation is less comprehensive.

Strip-planked designs offer builders many options for personalization, ranging from the simple to the extravagant, and build times will vary accordingl

Build this boat if...

  • You are a confirmed gunkholer who loves to paddle around the next bend of any creek you can find
  • You need a responsive kayak that will get you safely around tight bends and between rocks in those creeks
  • You want a small kayak, but one rugged enough to carry you safely through modest waves

  • Quality Materials

    Only the best professional-grade materials

  • Superior Support

    Tech support is free and unlimited

  • Versatile

    A design that does everything well

Quality Materials

Our kits ship with the same first-class marine plywood, timber, epoxy, and fiberglass that we use in our own boatbuilding shop. It's not cheap, but these boats are meant to last forever!

Superior Support

Have a question about your project, large or small? You can speak to a boatbuilder at CLC, on the phone or by email. Send questions to info@clcboats.com!

Fast but comfortable, comfortable but sleek, sophisticated but easy to build, elegant but straightforward. If you're going to have just one boat...

 Build Your Kit
Shipping & Returns

Builders also looked at...

Take One of our Boatbuilding Classes

We offer classes for many of the boats we sell. Teaching sites stretch from Maryland to Washington State and from Maine to California. Click here to find out more.
14' Great Auk Kayak

14' Great Auk Kayak

Dan T. paddling his Great Auk 14.

Dan T. paddling his Great Auk 14.

A woman enjoying a paddle in a Great Auk 14 sea kayak.

A woman enjoying a paddle in a Great Auk 14 sea kayak.

14 Foot Great Auk

14 Foot Great Auk

Paddling a Great Auk 14 sea kayak built by Fred D. on Moses Lake in Washington State.

Paddling a Great Auk 14 sea kayak built by Fred D. on Moses Lake in Washington State.

Custom details on a Great Auk 14 in the workshop of James R. of Woolwich, Maine.

Custom details on a Great Auk 14 in the workshop of James R. of Woolwich, Maine.

14' Great Auk Kayak Thumbnail
Dan T. paddling his Great Auk 14. Thumbnail
A woman enjoying a paddle in a Great Auk 14 sea kayak. Thumbnail
14 Foot Great Auk Thumbnail
Paddling a Great Auk 14 sea kayak built by Fred D. on Moses Lake in Washington State. Thumbnail
Custom details on a Great Auk 14 in the workshop of James R. of Woolwich, Maine. Thumbnail

Specifications

Length
14' 0"
Beam
24"
Cockpit Size
33" x 19"
Hull Weight
37 lbs.
Paddler Weight
120 - 200 lbs.
Max Payload
270 lbs.
Knee Height
13"
Max. Men's Shoe Size
12

Performance

Stability

5 out of 5
Very Tippy
Very Stable

Speed

3 out of 5
Cruiser
Racer

Cockpit Room

4 out of 5
Close Fit
Huge Cockpit

Payload

4 out of 5
Day Tripper
Freight Hauler

Ease of Construction

3 out of 5
Requires Patience
Very Easy
Builder James R. paddling his Great Auk 14 sea kayak on Nequasset Lake, Woolwich, Maine.
Builder James R. paddling his Great Auk 14 sea kayak on Nequasset Lake, Woolwich, Maine.

Overview

This kayak is a shortened version of the standard 17' Great Auk. It is a recreational kayak well suited to sheltered lakes and harbors where you may occasionally encounter moderate winds and modest waves. The relatively short length allows it to maneuver easily in tight streams and estuaries.

This is the ideal boat for exploring sheltered lakes and ponds, and for poking around sheltered bays. It is short enough to be easy to handle on and off the water while having enough length for efficient handling over distances. While not intended for rough water, it has enough stability to handle waves and enough length that it can still move if the wind picks up. While not a requirement, this design is well suited for mounting a rudder.

Do you fit in this kayak?  Study our kayak fit chart.

Our strip-built and hybrid kits ship with 50% Western Red and 50% Alaskan Yellow cedar bead & cove strips. Photos on our website and printed materials may show patterns and accent strips with walnut or other materials. Optional walnut strips are available and can be shipped with kit orders. 

Buying Options

Choose Your Boatbuilding Experience

Select the components that are the best fit for your strip-planking project.

  1. Select Your Configuration

    Build From a Kit:
    Most builders start with the Base Kit. It’s all there.
    Build From Scratch:
    Build from scratch using our Plans & Manual.
    Build From a Wood Parts Only Kit:
    For those who have their own supply of epoxy, fiberglass, and hardware.
    Forms and Strongback Only Kit:
    Just the computer-cut stuff: the forms and strongback.
    Order Study Plans or Manuals:
    Like to study up a bit first? Download study plans or a copy of the assembly manual. 

  2. Choose Options and Add-Ons

    Additional Components:
    You can choose colors for your strips! Also add rudders, hatch options, spray skirts, and more. 

  3. Get Building!

    Kits feature all of the latest tweaks to ease assembly, including slot-together molds, CNC-cut marine plywood cockpit recesses, and precision-milled strips.

Standard Configuration

Sale
$1,879.00 $1,680.00

This Auk kit includes The Strip-Built Sea Kayak, CNC-cut form...

This Auk kit includes The Strip-Built Sea Kayak, CNC-cut forms and strongback, hatch blanks, epoxy kit, fiberglass, precision-milled bead and cove Western Red and Alaskan Yellow cedar strips, foam "tractor" seat, Rapid Pulse backband, Keepers footbraces, hardware, and drawings.

 




Drawings are for representational purposes only. Actual kit contents may differ from what is shown.



Kit Boxes

  1: 98 x 20 x 4 (inches) » 75.00 lbs.
  2: 32 x 16 x 10 (inches) » 35.00 lbs.
  3: 12 x 12 x 12 (inches) » 28.00 lbs.

 

Alternative Configurations

$1,512.00

This Auk kit includes drawings, CNC-cut forms & strongbac...

This Auk kit includes drawings, CNC-cut forms & strongback, hatch blanks, and precision-milled bead-and-cove Western Red & Alaskan Yellow cedar strips.



Drawings are for representational purposes only. Actual kit contents may differ from what is shown.


Kit Boxes

  1: 98 x 20 x 4 (inches) » 75.00 lbs.
  2: 32 x 16 x 10 (inches) » 35.00 lbs.

 
$375.00

This Auk kit includes drawings, Nick's Schade's instruction m...

This Auk kit includes drawings, Nick's Schade's instruction manual, The Strip-Built Kayak,  and the CNC-cut forms and  strongback.



Drawings are for representational purposes only. Actual kit contents may differ from what is shown.

 


Kit Boxes

  1: 34 x 20 x 10 (inches) » 25.00 lbs.
  2: 98 x 10 x 6 (inches) » 21.00 lbs.

 
$225.00

This Auk kit includes drawings, and CNC-cut forms. Drawings...

This Auk kit includes drawings, and CNC-cut forms.

Drawings are for representational purposes only. Actual kit contents may differ from what is shown.

Kit Boxes

  1: 34 x 20 x 10 (inches) » 25.00 lbs.


 
$119.00

  Drawings are for representational purposes only. Actual ki...

Image for the Full Plan Set for the Little Auks

 

Drawings are for representational purposes only. Actual kit contents may differ from what is shown.

Kit Boxes

  1: 24 x 4 x 4 (inches) » 1.10 lbs.

Additional Options

$75.00

Nick Schade suggests MiniCel Foam for bulkheads in his boats....

Nick Schade suggests MiniCel Foam for bulkheads in his boats. Two 3-inch blocks ready for fitting.
$24.95

A kit for flush hatch hold-downs, requiring no deck hardware ...

A kit for flush hatch hold-downs, requiring no deck hardware to sully your strip-planked deck. Internally mounted bungies hook to hatches. Includes machined wooden parts, hardware, and instructions. Read the instructions here.

Kit includes enough material for two hatches. Specifically: eight wooden blocks, bungie cord, stainless steel hooks, and hatch cover reinforcements.

Almost any hatch system, flush or otherwise, will work with the Invisible Hatch Hold Down scheme. These kayak kits include flush hatch kits: Shearwaters, Arctic Hawk, Sea Island Sport, Night Heron S&G and all Guillemot strip-planked kayaks.

 
$21.95

By Nick Schade. 202 pages, 1998. "Strip-building" - assemblin...

By Nick Schade. 202 pages, 1998. "Strip-building" - assembling a pile of thin wood strips into a functional hull - has been a popular canoe-building method for many years. Now boatbuilder Nick Schade, an engineer by training and a self-professed sea kayaking addict, has refined this time-tested method to build the more complex shapes of sea kayaks. The method is simple, forgiving, allows a liberal amount of design flexibility, and requires a minimum number of tools.

In The Strip-Built Sea Kayak, Schade presents full plans for three elegant designs inspired by the grace and seaworthiness of the Inuit and Aleut skin boats. Profusely illustrated instructions provide the details that will guide you through the process.

Videos

14ft Great Auk build - extended version

Great Auk 14 Maiden Voyage

How to Assemble the Little AUK Strongback: Step-by-Step Guide S4-E4

Strip Planking the Little Auk 11, Part 1, S4-E5

Finishing the Hull Bottom of the Little Auk 11, Part 2, S4-E6

A Guide to Fitting the Outer Stem & Fairing a Strip Planked Kayak. S4-E9

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I order this kit?

Click on the Buying Options tab the top left of this page and follow the directions.

If I buy one of your boat kits, what else will I need?

Chesapeake Light Craft kits contain all the parts and materials you need to build the boat. The kit includes pre-cut parts, hardware, epoxy, fiberglass, plans and instructions. Our standard kayak kits also have the seats, hatches, bulkheads, footbraces, and the deck-rigging. About the only thing kits don't include is the final finish: paint or varnish. Your boat's color scheme is entirely up to you.

You'll need a few ordinary tools, like a cordless drill, a decent 5-inch sander, and for most boats a wood plane. You'll need disposables such as sandpaper and paint brushes and mixing cups.

You need a workspace a couple of feet bigger all the way around than the boat you want to build, and you'll need to be able to maintain temperatures between about 55 degrees F and 95 degrees F during steps when epoxy is being applied or curing. Since a lot of boatbuilding gets done during winter, we've written up some tips on how to heat a cold space cheaply, easily, and safely.

How much does this boat weigh and how much can it carry?

The weight and payload of this boat, along with other statistics such length and beam, can be found under Specs in the Specifications section, which is just below the lead image seen at the top of this page.

Can you send me the plans digitally?

Sorry, but until digital rights management technology for marine architectural work catches up to that used for books and music, we are unable to transmit digital plans. Currently, only study plans and manuals can be sent digitally.

Can the Great Auk 14 ride on top of my car?

Yes. With a weight of 37 lbs, the Little Auk 14 kayak is easy for two people to lift onto the roof of a car. We sell several roof rack options including one built just for kayaks made by Malone.

Classes

Take One of our Boatbuilding Classes

We offer classes for many of the boats we sell. Teaching sites stretch from Maryland to Washington State and from Maine to California. Click here to find out more.

View Classes

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