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Night Heron Hybrid built by Peter D.
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Hybrid Night Heron
Sale
Night Heron High-Deck being paddled during the Wooden Boat Festival in 2012.
Sale
Night Heron Hybrid built from plans by Samuel M.
Sale
Hybrid Night Heron
Night Heron Hybrid built by Peter D. Thumbnail
Hybrid Night Heron Thumbnail
Night Heron High-Deck being paddled during the Wooden Boat Festival in 2012. Thumbnail
Night Heron Hybrid built from plans by Samuel M. Thumbnail
Hybrid Night Heron Thumbnail

Hybrid Night Heron

Builder Testimonials

The winning qualities of the Night Heron SG's hull, but with a strip-planked deck

  • 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.

Build this boat if...

  • You like the look of a hybrid design that combines a stitch-and-glue hull with a strip-planked deck
  • You are an experienced paddler that enjoys taking your kayak, . . . well, almost anywhere
  • You want a kayak that turns easily, performs efficiently at high speeds, and is easy to roll

  • For Woodcrafters

    Boatbuilders, sharpen your block planes! 

  • Sophisticated Design

    Nothing else like it to buy or build

  • Quality Materials

    Only the best professional-grade materials

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!

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!

 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.
Night Heron Hybrid built by Peter D.

Night Heron Hybrid built by Peter D.

Hybrid Night Heron
Night Heron High-Deck being paddled during the Wooden Boat Festival in 2012.

Night Heron High-Deck being paddled during the Wooden Boat Festival in 2012.

Night Heron Hybrid built from plans by Samuel M.

Night Heron Hybrid built from plans by Samuel M.

Hybrid Night Heron
Night Heron Hybrid built by Peter D. Thumbnail
Hybrid Night Heron Thumbnail
Night Heron High-Deck being paddled during the Wooden Boat Festival in 2012. Thumbnail
Night Heron Hybrid built from plans by Samuel M. Thumbnail
Hybrid Night Heron Thumbnail

Specifications

Length
18'0"
Beam
20"
Cockpit Size
29" x 16"
Hull Weight
40 lbs.
Paddler Weight
150 - 220 lbs.
Max Payload
300 lbs.
Knee Height
11-1/4"
Max. Men's Shoe Size
11

Performance

Stability

2 out of 5
Very Tippy
Very Stable

Speed

4 out of 5
Cruiser
Racer

Cockpit Room

2 out of 5
Close Fit
Huge Cockpit

Payload

2 out of 5
Day Tripper
Freight Hauler

Ease of Construction

2 out of 5
Requires Patience
Very Easy
Night Heron Hybrid built from plans by Samuel M.
Night Heron Hybrid built from plans by Samuel M.

Overview

The Hybrid Night Heron combines the quick assembly of the stitch-and-glue hull and the beauty of a strip-built deck. The hull is exactly the same as the S&G Night Heron and the deck is exactly the same as the strip-built version. Since stitch-and-glue construction is generally quicker than strip, this hybrid goes together more quickly than a fully stripped hull. Since the strips look better to a lot of people than the plywood, the hybrid puts the beauty where you will see it, on top.

Because the hull shape is the same as the stitch and glue version, the performance will be the same. This boat is fast and efficient, tracks straight and carves turns easily.

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 hybrid-decked kayak 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:
    Add rudders, skegs, hatch options, spray skirts, and more.

  3. Get Building!

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

Standard Configuration

Sale
$1,735.00 $1,635.00

This Night Heron kit includes instructions & drawings, CN...

This Night Heron kit includes instructions & drawings, CNC-cut molds, okoume parts, bulkheads, hatch parts, 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

$149.00

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.
$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.
David S. starting his first roll in his Hybrid Night Heron.
David S. starting his first roll in his Hybrid Night Heron.

What builders are saying

Over the past year my son Zachary and I have been tackling our first boatbuilding project. We selected the Hybrid Night Heron. It was a challenging build, but if two newbies like us can do it while avoiding the dreaded Viking Funeral, anyone can! Thanks for your support, and for the quality and attention to detail that you build into each kit.

Timothy F. | GA
Verified Builder

From a build standpoint of the Hybrid Night Heron, the stripping was difficult without using staples when making bends. One great thing though, was me buying a righteous, killer, Japanese pull saw. It makes the precision cuts unbelievably easy. Your production of this boat was terrific and you and your teams' support of me was outstanding. Thank you.

Pat D. | MN
Verified Builder

Videos

The Hybrid Night Heron Sea Kayak || HSC Major Work 2017

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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