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Chesapeake 16LT Wooden Kayak Kit
Sale
Marie B and her Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak
Sale
Randy S. and his Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak at the water's edge
Sale
This woman loves her Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak built by Mark N., and celebrates it on Black Creek at Fleming Island, FL
Sale
A young girl delights in paddling a Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak built by Reade J. at Willows Beach near Victoria, BC
Chesapeake 16LT Wooden Kayak Kit Thumbnail
Marie B and her Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak Thumbnail
Randy S. and his Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak at the water's edge Thumbnail
This woman loves her Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak built by Mark N., and celebrates it on Black Creek at Fleming Island, FL Thumbnail
A young girl delights in paddling a Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak built by Reade J. at Willows Beach near Victoria, BC Thumbnail

Chesapeake 16LT

Builder Testimonials

A lower-volume variant of the classic Chesapeake 16.

  • Skill Level Beginner
  • Estimated Build Time 80 Hours

This project was designed with the beginner in mind. Assembly manuals and documentation are calibrated for builders who are using epoxy and fiberglass for the first time. In kits, little or no trimming and fitting of parts is required.

It takes about 40 or 50 hours to assemble the hull. The boat wires together in a single day, so the bulk of this time is for epoxy and fiberglass work. Depending on your degree of fussiness, add another 30 hours for sanding, painting, and varnishing. 

Build this boat if...

  • You weigh between 125 and 160 lbs and your shoe size is 10 or less
  • You want a traditional touring kayak with excellent handling and a comfortable kayak
  • You want nimble handling without excessive windage
  • You prefer high primary stability

  • Easy to Build

    Your first boatbuilding project!

  • Versatile

    A design that does everything well

  • In-Depth Manual

    Meticulous, fully-illustrated instructions

If this is your first go at mixing epoxy and assembling pre-cut wooden parts, here's a good design for starting out!

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

In-Depth Manual

Polished assembly manuals with hundreds of photos and illustrations, evolved and updated over many years. 

 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.
Chesapeake 16LT Wooden Kayak Kit

Chesapeake 16LT Wooden Kayak Kit

Marie B and her Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak

Marie B and her Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak

Randy S. and his Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak at the water's edge

Randy S. and his Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak at the water's edge

This woman loves her Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak built by Mark N., and celebrates it on Black Creek at Fleming Island, FL

This woman loves her Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak built by Mark N., and celebrates it on Black Creek at Fleming Island, FL

A young girl delights in paddling a Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak built by Reade J. at Willows Beach near Victoria, BC

A young girl delights in paddling a Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak built by Reade J. at Willows Beach near Victoria, BC

Chesapeake 16LT Wooden Kayak Kit Thumbnail
Marie B and her Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak Thumbnail
Randy S. and his Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak at the water's edge Thumbnail
This woman loves her Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak built by Mark N., and celebrates it on Black Creek at Fleming Island, FL Thumbnail
A young girl delights in paddling a Chesapeake 16LT wooden kayak built by Reade J. at Willows Beach near Victoria, BC Thumbnail

Specifications

Length
15' 6-1/2"
Beam
23"
Cockpit Size
31" x 17"
Hull Weight
42 lbs.
Paddler Weight
100 - 160 lbs.
Max Payload
220 lbs.
Knee Height
11-1/2"
Max. Men's Shoe Size
10

Performance

Stability

4 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

5 out of 5
Requires Patience
Very Easy
Chesapeake 16LT kayak (foreground) along with the 17 (background) paddling in the Eastern Bay, MD
Chesapeake 16LT kayak (foreground) along with the 17 (background) paddling in the Eastern Bay, MD

Overview

More than 9,000 Chesapeake-series kayak kits have been shipped since 1996. The  series varies in length from 14' to 21', and in hull weight from 36 to 68 lbs. The Chesapeake 16 comes in two versions.  The 16 and 16LT both weigh 42  lbs. The 16 has a slightly larger cockpit, a bit more knee room, and can take paddlers up to 180 lbs. and those with shoes as large size 13.

The 16LT has a slightly smaller capacity with a maximum of 160 lbs. It was designed as a Light Touring kayak, with lower decks than the 16 and less interior volume.  The cockpit and knee room are slightly smaller, so the 16 LT is intended for paddlers with a shoe size of 10 or less. By reducing this volume, the lower sides mean less windage, so the 16LT is sleeker and more nimble than the 16. 

An enduring favorite among paddlers, the award-winning Chesapeakes are the gold standard for build-it-yourself sea kayaks.  Easy to build with sleek lines, their high-volume bows lift you over rough seas -- or powerboat wakes -- while the skeg-like stern prevents weather-cocking in blustery winds. CLC's signature cambered decks shed spray, increase the storage space inside the hull, add strength without weight, and look great.

Large storage compartments will absorb enough gear and water for long, unsupported expeditions. Cockpits are large and easy to pad out for a custom fit. The big, comfortable cockpit is an ideal spot to spend a lazy afternoon if multi-week expeditions aren't your speed.

Many of our Chesapeake kayak builders  tell us about their explorations of quiet local rivers, others have gone on great adventures, including a few who have paddled the length of the Sea of Cortez. They are used in expeditions above the Arctic Circle and for day paddling in Florida.

Chesapeakes are built to endure a lifetime of strenuous touring with their 4mm-okoume-plywood hulls and decks, which are both sheathed with fiberglass. Watertight bulkheads are standard, as are hatches, deck rigging, adjustable footbraces, and a comfortable seat. One reason so many builders prefer the Chesapeakes is their flexible architecture, unique among kit boats. Experienced builders may customize every part of the boat above the waterline, whether building from a kit or from plans.

Chesapeakes have been built in garages, apartments, living rooms, television studios, and in at least 50 countries from Iceland to Australia. You can watch a video of a Chesapeake kayak being built from start to finish here. 

Individual kayak fit is very important, so we have designed six singles, two doubles, and a triple to choose from. The 16LT and 17LT are standard Chesapeake 16 and Chesapeake 17 hulls  with lower decks and sides, reducing their total volume by 20% for a sleeker, more compact kayak

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

Buying Options

Choose Your Boatbuilding Experience

Start your kit-building experience by choosing the option that best suits your experience and itinerary. Don’t have the confidence to build on your own? No worries! Join a boatbuilding class or hire us to build a custom boat for you.

  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 full-sized plans.
    Build From a Wood Parts Only Kit:
    For those who have their own supply of epoxy, fiberglass, and hardware.
    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:
    Add rudders, skegs, hatch options, spray skirts, and more. 

  3. Get Building!

    Computer-cut kits feature all of the latest tweaks to ease assembly, including slot-together frames, pre-drilled holes for stitching-and-gluing, puzzle joints, and precision in the fitting of parts.

Standard Configuration

Sale
$1,298.00 $1,099.00

The Chesapeake 16LT kit ships with computer-cut okoume marine...

The Chesapeake 16LT kit ships with computer-cut okoume marine plywood hull and deck parts, hatches and bulkheads, full deck rigging, adjustable footbraces, epoxy kit, fiberglass for hull and deck, tractor seat, and backband, plus our extensively illustrated 180-page step-by-step instruction manual.

Alternative Configurations

$869.00

This Chesapeake 16LT "wood parts only" kit ships with compute...

This Chesapeake 16LT "wood parts only" kit ships with computer-cut and -drilled okoume marine plywood hull and deck parts, hatches and bulkheads, plus our extensively illustrated 180-page step-by-step instruction manual. Typical "wood parts only" kit buyers have an existing or ready supply of their own epoxy, fiberglass, and hardware.
$89.00

This Chesapeake kit includes plans and instructions.

This Chesapeake kit includes plans and instructions.
$79.00

Plans for the Chesapeake 16LT comprise 5 pages, each page 24"...

Plans for the Chesapeake 16LT comprise 5 pages, each page 24" x 36" (610 x 914mm). Also included is the latest version of the assembly manual, emailed in the form of a large PDF, with 8.5" x 11" (216 x 280mm) pages.

This option is for PDF download of the plans. You will need to be able to print the plans at 24" x 36", probably on a commercial plotter.

These plans include:
Page 1: General arrangement
Page 2: Offsets for hull panels, full-sized patterns for bottom panel ends
Page 3: Full-sized patterns for seat and bulkheads
Page 4: Construction details, full-sized patterns for hatches
Page 5: Construction details, full-sized pattern for cockpit coaming


Please note: Upon placing the order, you'll receive an email with a link to the PDF.  Be sure to use a correct email address! If you have filters in place, make sure that emails from "admin@clcboats.com" are not blocked.  

Orders from outside the lower 48 U.S. states will need to wait until the next business day for processing and email delivery of their plans.

Copying or transmitting any part of this document is prohibited, as is posting or displaying any part of it online.

Chesapeake16LT Plans by CLC
$25.00

173-page spiral-bound manual that walks you through Chesapeak...

173-page spiral-bound manual that walks you through Chesapeake kayak construction step by step.  

NOTE: CLC instruction manuals walk you through construction step by step with photos and drawings, and are a good way to get acquainted with the process in advance of a kit purchase. (Manual purchase refundable with kit purchase.) There is not enough information in the manual to build a boat from scratch---you will need the complete Plans & Manual Only package for that.
$20.00

This option comprises the latest version of the illustrated a...

This option comprises the latest version of the illustrated assembly manual, emailed in the form of a large PDF, with 8.5" x 11" (216x280mm) pages.  

Please note:  This option is for builders who want to study the process before taking up their tools. The manual includes a materials list, tool list, and of course step-by-step construction details from start to finish.

While the manual is expansive in detail, the manuals alone lack sufficient detail to fabricate parts.  You will still need to purchase the plans or a pre-cut kit to build the boat. Plans are available through the mail. We regret that we are not able to transmit plans or CAD/CAM data digitally.

Upon placing the order, you'll receive an email with a link to the PDF.  Be sure to use a correct email address! If you have filters in place, be sure that emails from "admin@clcboats.com" are not blocked.  

Orders from outside the lower 48 U.S. states will need to wait until the next business day for processing and email delivery of their manual.

Copying or transmitting any part of this document is prohibited, as is posting or displaying any part of it online.  
$2.99

You can get printable study plans for most of your favorite ...

Chesapeake 16LT Study Plans page 1

You can get printable study plans for most of your favorite kits and plans by return email --- for just a few dollars! 

When you order a set, you'll receive the study plans emailed in the form of PDFs at 8.5" x 11" (216x280mm).  

These printable drawings (most are two pages) help give a sense of the construction process and a feel for what the full-size plans or kit contain. Please note that a boat can not be built from Study Plans; they are to preview a project in print media; the Study Plans are an excellent broad-strokes look at the process. The subsequent escalation for more information is to order the boat's print instruction manual (where available), which will walk you through the project step-by-step.   

Upon placing the order, you'll receive an email with a link to the PDF.  Be sure to use the correct email address! If you have filters in place, ensure emails from "admin@clcboats.com" are not blocked.
Meredith H. built this Chesapeake 16LT Kayak.
Meredith H. built this Chesapeake 16LT Kayak.

What builders are saying

My daughters and I have built three Chesapeake kayaks in classes taught by Geoff Kerr at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. The Chesapeake 17LT was built by my daughter Caroline and me in the first class. The two Chesapeake 16LTs were built by my other daughter, Sarah, the following year. All three boats paddle great. Mine has been around islands off the Maine coast and on Lake Champlain and the Connecticut River. We plan a trip with all three, but so far the girls have just paddled locally on the Connecticut River. 

Bill, Sarah, and Caroline | VT
Verified Builder

This is an update on the kayak that I built a year ago: A MARVEL!! Stable, FAST, and easy to maneuver. I have taken it on three paddles with the NE Wisconsin Heritage paddle group and had a great time. I took it to a wooden boat show this past weekend in Green Lake, Wisconsin, and passed out several printouts of the Chesapeake 16LT spec page. I do have to tell you that there was one guy who just could not believe that I built it. My response was, 'You, too, can build a kayak in your garage!"

Thank you again, for about the millionth time, for ALL your kindness, help, and the generous gift of your time to advise me along the course of construction and finishing. Buying a kayak kit is not just getting the bits and pieces to put together, it's the people in the organization who make the difference... as you did for me.

Valerie S | IL
Verified Builder

Here is a tip for people wanting to keep a low profile on a Florida vacation: do not carry two CLC kayaks on the top of your car!  I cannot tell you how many admiring comments and questions we received.  The questions were always along the same lines:  Did you build those boats?, How long did it take you?, How much do they weigh?, What kind of wood is that?  I was glad that I had put another coat of varnish on the boats before the trip.

Even though driving from Michigan with two kayaks (and two bikes) is a little worrisome at first, we plan to do the same thing when we return to Anna Maria Island next March.  Once we got there the kayaking was great. My Mill Creek 13 is ideal for photographing birds, and my wife loves the Chesapeake 16LT.

Thanks again for the high quality of your products and service.

John E. | MI
Verified Builder

You just do not seem to have enough women pictured who have built boats. My husband was there for moral support and as a second set of hands when needed, but between your instruction manual and bouncing ideas off my husband, the Chesapeake 16LT was basically very easy to build. Thank you for a great product!

Marie B. | IL
Verified Builder

I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity to build a Chesapeake 16LT in class this past week, not only for the knowledge shared, but for the patience with which you shared it. We worked hard all week but you hung in there with us, graciously correcting any mistake and carefully guiding us on to the next step. I have a new measure of confidence now as I look forward to completing my boat.

Mark A. | NC
Verified Builder

This Chesapeake 16LT hybrid was the ultimate present:  I "gave" the kit to my father, to build over the winter months (and to keep him busy!).  He "regifted" the finished boat back to me for my birthday in March.  It is the gift that just keeps giving!

I am a former collegiate rower, who continues to work in the rowing industry, and am excited to get back on the water facing forwards.  The light weight of this kayak makes it easy to transport and nimble to paddle.

I think my father did a gorgeous job on my Chessie! Looking forward to many years of paddling this gorgeous boat.  It fits just like it was meant for me. Oh wait, it WAS built just for me!

Meredith H. | VT
Verified Builder

Videos

Building a Stitch & Glue Kayak: Complete Video

Homebuilt Sectional Chesapeake 16LT

Chesapeake18 Build at Jenkins Boat Works

Chesapeake 18 Complete Build Series by Jenkins Boat Works

Frequently Asked Questions

I want to install my Chesapeake deck with no ring nails. Will the epoxy be strong enough? How can I keep the deck down while it cures?

MAS and System3 epoxies will certainly hold the deck down without the ring nails.  Here at the shop we like to use packing tape for jobs like this.  It's quite easy to manage.

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.

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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