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Petrel Play during the Schoodic Sea-Kayak Retreat, ME.
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Petrel Play during the Schoodic Sea-Kayak Retreat, ME
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Petrel Play

Builder Testimonials

All of the refinements of the standard Petrel, in a smaller, more versatile package. Play in big waves, or just tour the harbor.

  • 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. The Petrel series kayaks are demanding of joinery skills. Cabinetmakers will feel right at home; wood-butchers less so.

Build this boat if...

  • You're looking for a comfortable, versatile, compact kayak that isn't a beamy tub.
  • You're looking for a sport-oriented kayak for surfing
  • You want a sleek, West Greenland-style kayak without the gawky 17- or 18-foot length
  • You prefer advanced handling qualities in all conditions, especially waves

  • 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

  • Versatile

    A design that does everything well

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!

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.
Petrel Play during the Schoodic Sea-Kayak Retreat, ME.

Petrel Play during the Schoodic Sea-Kayak Retreat, ME.

Petrel Play during the Schoodic Sea-Kayak Retreat, ME

Petrel Play during the Schoodic Sea-Kayak Retreat, ME

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Petrel Play during the Schoodic Sea-Kayak Retreat, ME. Thumbnail
Petrel Play during the Schoodic Sea-Kayak Retreat, ME Thumbnail
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Specifications

Length
14'0"
Beam
23"
Cockpit Size
31" x 16"
Hull Weight
31 lbs.
Paddler Weight
100 - 220 lbs.
Max Payload
260 lbs.
Knee Height
12"
Max. Men's Shoe Size
12.5

Performance

Stability

3 out of 5
Very Tippy
Very Stable

Speed

3 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

1 out of 5
Requires Patience
Very Easy
Steve H. looking skyward from his Petrel Play kayak while paddling in Monterey Bay, California.
Steve H. looking skyward from his Petrel Play kayak while paddling in Monterey Bay, California.

Overview

When Nick Schade built the Petrel "Play" SG several years ago, he really wanted to use a strip-built construction method. Now it's available.

The Petrel Play fits in a cross-over space between recreational kayaks and sea kayaks. It is stable and roomy enough for novice paddlers and those who enjoy relaxing paddles in sheltered water. It is also responsive and sea worthy enough to go out in rough open water to surf or play in tide races.

The hull of the Petrel Play is has a moderate "V" to flattish bottom with a rounded chine forward transitioning to a hard chine aft, giving it a very solid stability while allowing easy leaning for carved turns. The kayak is full in the bow with plenty of buoyancy to rise over waves. With a lot of rocker the Petrel Play is easier to turn when exploring tight spots, but has nice balanced tracking for venturing off shore.

This is an all-around fun boat to paddle. Beginners and novices will feel comfortable with the stability. It has a nice roomy cockpit but experienced paddlers will find solid surfaces for their knees and thighs to grip while playing out in rough stuff. The transitioning chine allows a skilled paddler "point-and-shoot" instinctive turning with just a slight lean.

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-and-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
$1,889.00 $1,600.00

This Petrel Play kit includes Building Strip-Planked Boats, d...

This Petrel Play kit includes Building Strip-Planked Boats, drawings, 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, and hardware.

Alternative Configurations

$1,369.00

This Petrel Play kit includes drawings, CNC-cut forms & s...

This Petrel Play kit includes drawings, CNC-cut forms & strongback, hatch blanks, and precision-milled bead-and-cove Western Red & Alaskan Yellow cedar strips.
$425.00

This Petrel Play kit includes drawings, and CNC-cut forms &am...

This Petrel Play kit includes drawings, and CNC-cut forms & strongback.
$280.00

This Petrel Play kit includes drawings, and CNC-cut forms.

This Petrel Play kit includes drawings, and CNC-cut forms.
$129.00

  Those who are familiar with Nick Schade's construction met...

 

Those who are familiar with Nick Schade's construction methods may choose to build their Petrel Play kayak from plans only. Nick is a talented draftsman and working from them is a joy. 

 

 

Kit Boxes

  1: 24 x 4 x 4 (inches) » 1.40 lbs.

Additional Options

$85.00

Both the Petrel Play 4mm Okoume Cockpit Apron and the Cockpit...

Both the Petrel Play 4mm Okoume Cockpit Apron and the Cockpit Recess, for plans builders. These items are included in the complete kit option. 
$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.

 
$24.95

By Nick Schade. 280 pages, 2009. Tens of thousands of hobbyi...

By Nick Schade. 280 pages, 2009.

Tens of thousands of hobbyists and professionals have turned out rugged, beautiful wooden kayaks with Nick Schade's classic guide, The Strip-Built Sea Kayak. In his newest book, Nick shows you how to strip-build dinghies, canoes, and other small boats as well as kayaks. Inside Building Strip-Planked Boats you will find:

  • Complete plans for a canoe (Nymph), a kayak (Petrel), and a dinghy (Coot)
  • Step-by-step instructions for any strip-built boat
  • Everything you need to know about materials, tools, and safety
  • Tips on how to adapt your favorite boat design to strip construction
  • Photos and ideas for decorative treatments to inspire you

Videos

Crafting a Handmade Kayak -- Making Petrel Play

Making a Strip Built Kayak - Introduction - E1

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

Making A Strip Built Kayak - Installing the First Strips - E3

Making a Strip Built Kayak - Stripping the Sides - E4

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.

Extras

Nick Schade Builds a Strip-Built Petrel Play Kayak


The first four videos in Nick Schade's series on building a Petrel Play kayak are in the VIDEOS section above.  You can watch the whole sequence of the ten video series here.

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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