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Guillemot Fast Double Kayak
Sale
Fast Double
Sale
Fast Double
Guillemot Fast Double Kayak Thumbnail
Fast Double Thumbnail
Fast Double Thumbnail

Fast Double

Builder Testimonials

A purebred racing machine for skilled paddlers and skilled builders.

  • Skill Level Advanced
  • Estimated Build Time 250 Hours

Builders undertaking this kit should be comfortable reading traditional boat plans, and have at their disposal stationary tools such as a tablesaw and a bandsaw. The drawings and documentation assume a good working knowledge of woodworking, epoxy, and fiberglass techniques.

This time estimate assumes builders have already built a couple of stitch-and-glue boats.

Build this boat if...

  • You and your partner are experienced paddlers
  • You want a high performance kayak for touring or racing
  • You are interested in speed, stability, and agility in the water

  • Need for Speed

    For racers seeking escape velocity

  • For Woodcrafters

    Boatbuilders, sharpen your block planes! 

  • Sophisticated Design

    Nothing else like it to buy or build

It's hard to find designs like this in the production world. Combining the strength and light weight of wood-epoxy composites with simplified construction, this one's designed to be fast and fun.

If you love woodworking, this is a project where you get to make wood shavings. You'll need to be comfortable with a sharp plane and a Japanese pull-saw, but the reward is a work of craftsmanship that's all your own.

This is a design with qualities and features that are unique in the marketplace, both among DIY projects and production boats. Refined, tested, uncompromised, outstanding, and unique!

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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.
Guillemot Fast Double Kayak

Guillemot Fast Double Kayak

Fast Double
Fast Double
Guillemot Fast Double Kayak Thumbnail
Fast Double Thumbnail
Fast Double Thumbnail

Specifications

Length
25'6"
Beam
21"
Cockpit Size
29" x 17"
Hull Weight
58 lbs.
Paddler Weight
200 - 400 lbs.
Max Payload
600 lbs.
Knee Height
11"
Max. Men's Shoe Size
14

Performance

Stability

1 out of 5
Very Tippy
Very Stable

Speed

5 out of 5
Cruiser
Racer

Cockpit Room

2 out of 5
Close Fit
Huge Cockpit

Payload

3 out of 5
Day Tripper
Freight Hauler

Ease of Construction

1 out of 5
Requires Patience
Very Easy

Overview

The Fast Double kayak really is fast. It consistently does very well in races such as the Blackburn Challenge. Obviously with its length it does not turn quickly, but it does move swiftly in a straight line. The two paddlers are far enough apart that they do not interfere with each other's strokes at all, so they can paddle with different cadences if they want. The boat also rolls very easily for those so inclined.

Maximum speed and fun in a tandem kayak. The width is the same as the Expedition Single at 21 inches. This is narrow, but it gains great stability from its 25'6" length. This is a boat for a pair of experienced paddlers who want to paddle together but don't want the compromises of a shorter and wider double. This is a high performance touring kayak suitable for intermediate to skilled paddlers. (Beginners looking for a double should consider the Guillemot Double)

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
$2,598.00 $2,220.00

This Fast Double kit includes The Strip-Built Sea Kayak, CNC-...

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

Alternative Configurations

$1,969.00

This Fast Double "wood parts only" kit includes drawings, CNC...

This Fast Double "wood parts only" kit includes drawings, CNC-cut forms & strongback, hatch blanks, and precision-milled bead-and-cove Western Red & Alaskan Yellow cedar strips. Typical "wood parts only" kit buyers have an existing or ready supply of their own epoxy, fiberglass, and hardware.
$400.00

This Fast Double kit includes drawings, and CNC-cut forms &am...

This Fast Double kit includes drawings, and CNC-cut forms & strongback.
$250.00

This Fast Double kit includes drawings, and CNC-cut forms.

This Fast Double kit includes drawings, and CNC-cut forms.

plans
$129.00

Some of our more experienced builders prefer to build their k...

Some of our more experienced builders prefer to build their kayaks from plans alone. They cut all of the pieces out themselves.



Kit Boxes

  1: 24 x 4 x 4 (inches) » 1.20 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

Sea Trial Guillemot Fast Double

Making a Strip Built Kayak - Introduction - E1

Making A Strip Built Kayak - Cutting Strips and Forms - E2

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.

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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