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Guillemot Kayak built by Kenny D.
Sale
Paddling a Guillemot Single wooden kayak built by Ivan K. in Slovakia
Sale
Christopher M. with his Guillemot Single wooden kayak at the beach
Sale
Guillemot and Auk wooden kayaks built by Tony O. at the water's edge
Sale
A pair of Guillemot wooden kayaks built by Roy J. and Alan H. at the water's edge
Sale
Troy G's Guillemot Single wooden kayak at the lake shore
Guillemot Kayak built by Kenny D. Thumbnail
Paddling a Guillemot Single wooden kayak built by Ivan K. in Slovakia Thumbnail
Christopher M. with his Guillemot Single wooden kayak at the beach Thumbnail
Guillemot and Auk wooden kayaks built by Tony O. at the water's edge Thumbnail
A pair of Guillemot wooden kayaks built by Roy J. and Alan H. at the water's edge Thumbnail
Troy G's Guillemot Single wooden kayak at the lake shore Thumbnail

Guillemot

Builder Testimonials

Nick Schade's original, immensely popular all-around sea kayak, for strip-planking.

  • 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.

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

Build this boat if...

  • You are looking for a kayak that is stable performs well in rough water
  • You want a kayak that is sporty and easy to maneuver
  • You seek a kayak that rides well over the wavetops, and has a low deck to reduce windage

  • Classic Appeal

    Traditional looks that will never age

  • For Woodcrafters

    Boatbuilders, sharpen your block planes! 

  • Versatile

    A design that does everything well

Classic Appeal

Some might argue that small craft design reached the zenith of looks and performance in the 19th century. We wouldn't disagree. Designs like this one will still look good in a hundred years.

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.

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.
Guillemot Kayak built by Kenny D.

Guillemot Kayak built by Kenny D.

Paddling a Guillemot Single wooden kayak built by Ivan K. in Slovakia

Paddling a Guillemot Single wooden kayak built by Ivan K. in Slovakia

Christopher M. with his Guillemot Single wooden kayak at the beach

Christopher M. with his Guillemot Single wooden kayak at the beach

Guillemot and Auk wooden kayaks built by Tony O. at the water's edge

Guillemot and Auk wooden kayaks built by Tony O. at the water's edge

A pair of Guillemot wooden kayaks built by Roy J. and Alan H. at the water's edge

A pair of Guillemot wooden kayaks built by Roy J. and Alan H. at the water's edge

Troy G's Guillemot Single wooden kayak at the lake shore

Troy G's Guillemot Single wooden kayak at the lake shore

Guillemot Kayak built by Kenny D. Thumbnail
Paddling a Guillemot Single wooden kayak built by Ivan K. in Slovakia Thumbnail
Christopher M. with his Guillemot Single wooden kayak at the beach Thumbnail
Guillemot and Auk wooden kayaks built by Tony O. at the water's edge Thumbnail
A pair of Guillemot wooden kayaks built by Roy J. and Alan H. at the water's edge Thumbnail
Troy G's Guillemot Single wooden kayak at the lake shore Thumbnail

Specifications

Length
17'0"
Beam
21"
Cockpit Size
29" x 17"
Hull Weight
41 lbs.
Paddler Weight
150 - 220 lbs.
Max Payload
300 lbs.
Knee Height
11"
Max. Men's Shoe Size
12

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

5 out of 5
Day Tripper
Freight Hauler

Ease of Construction

3 out of 5
Requires Patience
Very Easy
Guillemot kayak built by Karl T. from Quebec, Canada.
Guillemot kayak built by Karl T. from Quebec, Canada.

Overview

The Guillemot is the kayak Nick Schade set out to create when he first named his boatbuilding and design firm "Guillemot Kayaks". Nick wanted a boat with good all-around performance for his own use. It needed to be "sporty" with quick acceleration and maneuverability, and it needed to be comfortable and easy to paddle to the places he wanted to go.

After trying seven different design iterations, Nick solved his problem. With a shallow-V bottom and moderately hard chine, the Guillemot is comfortably stable and maneuverable. Nick brought the volume well into the ends for a smooth ride over waves. The low lines of the deck keep the boat out of the breeze for good balance in cross winds.

With practice you will find that the Guillemot designs track easily. At first it will take some concentration to hold course, but with experience the kayak will respond as if it were reading your mind. It will soon react quickly and easily, going where you choose just by thinking about it.

Nick originally designed the Guillemot for an article in Sea Kayaker magazine. It also appears in Nick's first book, The Strip Built Sea Kayak. Look there to see images of the construction process. 

For paddlers who like this design, but need a larger boat, take a look at the Guillemot "L" which is 6% larger. Smaller paddlers who want a higher performance boat should consider the Guillemot "S", a 6% smaller version. 

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
$1,975.00 $1,690.00

This Guillemot kit includes The Strip-Built Sea Kayak, drawin...

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

Alternative Configurations

$1,469.00

This Guillemot "wood parts only" kit includes drawings, CNC-c...

This Guillemot "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.
$385.00

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

This Guillemot kit includes drawings, and CNC-cut forms & strongback.
$235.00

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

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

plans
$129.00

Additional Options

$195.00

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

Many kayaks can benefit from a retractable skeg. There will be conditions in which no skeg is needed at all, other occasions when just a little skeg will help, and days in smooth water with a strong breeze over the aft quarter when a skeg is essential.

The Skeg Kit is comprised of three basic components: the skeg itself, the skeg box where the skeg lives in the boat, and the control slider. The skeg is a fin that can be retracted in and out. The skeg box is just big enough and wide enough to hold the skeg. The control slider is mounted up near the cockpit where it is convenient to the paddler.
$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

Guillemot Kayak Build

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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