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Sale
Sale
Great Auk 17 kayak built by Robert C.
Sale
A Great Auk 17 sea kayak and builder Curt W. at Pymatuning State Park
Sale
A Great Auk 17 sea kayak built by Gaetan A, under paddle
Sale
Enjoying a paddle in a Great Auk 17 built by Stephen G
Sale
A Great Auk 17 sea kayak with a CLC Sail Rig mounted for conversion for trimaran sailing
Great Auk 17 kayak built by Robert C. Thumbnail
A Great Auk 17 sea kayak and builder Curt W. at Pymatuning State Park Thumbnail
A Great Auk 17 sea kayak built by Gaetan A, under paddle Thumbnail
Enjoying a paddle in a Great Auk 17 built by Stephen G Thumbnail
A Great Auk 17 sea kayak with a CLC Sail Rig mounted for conversion for trimaran sailing Thumbnail

Great Auk 17

Builder Testimonials

The Great Auk 17 is a roomy, fast, and stable kayak that gracefully tracks a straight path through the water.

  • Skill Level Intermediate
  • Estimated Build Time 180 Hours

Build this boat if...

  • Your kayaking skills range from beginner to intermediate
  • You want a kayak that gives a stable and dry ride, that will lift over waves rather than go through them
  • You want a kayak with room for the gear you will need on multi-day adventures
  • For Woodcrafters

    Boatbuilders, sharpen your block planes! 

  • Versatile

    A design that does everything well

  • Quality Materials

    Only the best professional-grade materials

Build Your Kit

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.

Specifications

Length
17'0"
Beam
24"
Cockpit Size
33" x 19"
Hull Weight
41 lbs.
Paddler Weight
150 - 220 lbs.
Max Payload
350 lbs.
Knee Height
13"
Max. Men's Shoe Size
12

Performance

Stability

3 out of 5
Very Tippy
Very Stable

Speed

5 out of 5
Cruiser
Racer

Cockpit Room

3 out of 5
Close Fit
Huge Cockpit

Payload

3 out of 5
Day Tripper
Freight Hauler

Ease of Construction

5 out of 5
Requires Patience
Very Easy
Great Auk 17 built by Alfred C.
Great Auk 17 built by Alfred C.

Overview

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
$2,079.00 $1,845.00

This Auk kit includes CNC-cut forms & strongback, hatch ...

Alternative Configurations

$1,669.00

This Auk "wood parts only" kit includes drawings, CNC-cut for...

$385.00

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

$235.00

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

$129.00

Great Auk 17 Full-Size Plans:

Additional Options

$75.00

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

$195.00

Many kayaks can benefit from a retractable skeg. There will b...

$24.95

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

$21.95

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

Videos

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.

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

Need Help Building it?

We’re here to help with any questions you might have during the build process.

Phone

Available Mon – Fri, 9am–5pm EST

410.267.0137

Email

We answer emails 7 days a week and within 24 hours

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