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CLC's Rhode Runner Runabout Kit
Sale
Rhode Runner - The CLC Runabout
Sale
Rhode Runner - The CLC Runabout
Sale
Rhode Runner - The CLC Runabout
Sale
Rhode Runner - The CLC Runabout
CLC's Rhode Runner Runabout Kit Thumbnail
Rhode Runner - The CLC Runabout Thumbnail
Rhode Runner - The CLC Runabout Thumbnail
Rhode Runner - The CLC Runabout Thumbnail
Rhode Runner - The CLC Runabout Thumbnail

Rhode Runner - The CLC Runabout

Builder Testimonials

We designed this small runabout to echo the grace and efficiency of the post-war Lyman and Chris Craft runabouts—in a kit you can build yourself!

  • Skill Level Pro-Kit
  • Estimated Build Time 250 Hours

Build this boat if...

  • You want a boat for days of family fun on the water.
  • You are looking for a construction challenge.
  • You want a fast and stable craft that is fun to drive.
  • You are nostalgic for the 1950s-era wooden runabouts, but don't want to maintain one.

  • Need for Speed

    For racers seeking escape velocity

  • For Woodcrafters

    Boatbuilders, sharpen your block planes! 

  • Classic Appeal

    Traditional looks that will never age

  • Sophisticated Design

    Nothing else like it to buy or build

Build Your Kit

We Can Help You Build This Boat

We offer classes for many of the boats we sell. For boats, such as this one, we can offer private classes upon request. Some customers also ask us to build the boat for them.

Specifications

Length
14' 9"
Beam
65"
Max Power
25-hp outboard (200 lbs., 91 kg.)
Min Power
15-hp outboard
Motor Shaft Length
20"
Fuel Capacity
6 US gal external (not included)
Passenger Capacity
4 adults
Hull Weight
350 lbs.
Max Motor Weight
200 lbs.
Max Payload
1000 lbs.

Performance

Stability

5 out of 5
Very Tippy
Very Stable

Speed

4 out of 5
Cruiser
Racer

Cockpit Room

3 out of 5
Close Fit
Huge Cockpit

Payload

2 out of 5
Day Tripper
Freight Hauler

Ease of Construction

5 out of 5
Requires Patience
Very Easy
Rhode Runner Runabout built by the Bozeman family, seen here at High Rock Lake, North Carolina.
Rhode Runner Runabout built by the Bozeman family, seen here at High Rock Lake, North Carolina.

Overview

Pro-Kit

The beautiful 1950s-era runabouts are icons of style in the world of wooden boats. We wanted one for ourselves, so we designed this small runabout to echo the grace of the post-war Lyman and Chris Craft runabouts. Our 30 years of experience designing wood-epoxy composite boats allowed us to create a smooth-running powerboat that is light, durable, and fast. And you can build it in your garage!

We chose the name "Rhode Runner" for this shapely and able boat, referencing the nearby Rhode River, site of decades of CLC prototype launches, photo shoots, and small boat symposia.

This CNC-cut, stitch-and-glue design, requires no building mold, yet the hull has a striking, sculptural -- and fully functional -- shape. 

The Rhode Runner is part of our CLC ProKit fleet, a design suitable for confident builders with a couple of stitch-and-glue boats under their belts. The complete kit can be assembled in 250-300 hours.  Full-size plans are also available for the scratch builder.   

In trials we saw 24 mph, just under 21 knots, with a 25-hp motor. The boat doesn't skid in turns, is well behaved in general, and is not much slowed by a crew of three adults. The deep sheer line in unusual in a retro runabout. She appears to have a Norwegian heritage at idle speed; her bow evoke the traditional snekke design.

The kit includes CNC-milled grooves in the plywood deck, with dark cedar strips glued in, calling traditional runabout decking to mind. Builders can choose the kit with integral wooden seats, or, those who prefer aftermarket seats, can order a kit with no seats.

Buying Options

Choose Your Boatbuilding Experience

Building a Rhode Runner begins with selecting the option that best fits your skill level and shop size.

  1. Select Your Configuration

    Build From a Kit:
    Most builders will start with the Base Kit. Everything’s there.
    Build From Scratch:

    Source your own materials and hardware, and work from full-sized patterns.
    Build From a Wood Parts Only Kit:

    We provide the CNC-cut wooden parts and timber. Typical "wood parts only" kit buyers have their own supply of epoxy, fiberglass, and hardware.
    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:
    Some of our boats have options such as a center console. Many boats can be enhanced with nonskid decking, storage covers, trailers, and more.

  3. Get Building!

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

Standard Configuration

The Rhode Runner Base Kit can be built one of three ways. The most popular way is to build from a kit. Experienced builders may choose to build from plans. Those new to plywood construction may choose to build their boat in a class.

Sale
$4,998.00 $4,490.00

The Rhode Runner kit includes all hull parts computer-cut fro...

Sale
$4,798.00 $4,280.00

The Rhode Runner kit includes all hull parts computer-cut fro...

Alternative Configurations

A number of our customers prefer to not to buy the full kit, but build from a kit of only the wood parts, or build just from plans and the manual. If you like to work that way, you will find what you need here: The Study Plans are a great way to introduce yourself to the Rhode Runner. We offer the Wood Parts Only Kit as a stand-alone option. Typically, buyers of the wood parts only kit have an existing or ready supply of their own epoxy, fiberglass, and hardware. Builders guides and plans are available in PDF or print. Buy them separately or together.

$2.99

You can get printable study plans for most of your favorite ...

$3,639.00

The Rhode Runner kit includes all hull parts computer-cut fr...

$3,198.00

The Rhode Runner kit includes all hull parts computer-cut fr...

$249.00

The plans-and-guide package for the Rhode Runner is for buil...

$199.00

This option is to DOWNLOAD full-sized plans for the Rhode Ru...

$35.00

This option comprises the latest version of the full-color, n...

$30.00

This option comprises the latest version of the full-color, n...

Additional Options

The steering package, windshield package, and hull hardware package, and seat cushions are not included in the full kit and must be purchased separately. After the boat is finished, many builders also buy a trailer and a custom boat cover to transport and protect their new creation.

$600.00

Includes SS half-oval with ends and screws, bow cleat and cho...

$299.00

The Rhode Runner Steering Package includes a rotary steering ...

$440.00

Includes three cast mounting brackets (unpolished), CNC cut a...

$995.00

Vinyl cushions designed and fabricated in-house at CLC in ord...

$695.00

The graceful lines of our Rhode Runner design echo the lines ...

$2,866.00

Our Trailex Skiff Trailer is a perfect option for our 15'2" ...

Materials List for Builders Using Plans Only

Materials List for Plans Builders

The Materials List for the Rhode Runner will tell you the amounts of plywood, timber, fasteners, and epoxy and fiberglass that you will need to build the Rhode Runner from plans.

Download PDF

What builders are saying

My husband Tony and I just completed our latest CLC project. We took the boat up to the antique and classic boat show in Hessel Michigan. We had the boat judged and won second place in the outboard category - with a brand new 2023 handmade boat- against all of those beautiful Chris Crafts etc! We are really enjoying our new boat, and so is our new boat dog (new puppy this summer) Rolo.

Kimberly F | MI
Verified Builder

Videos

CLC Rhode Runner Runabout Kit

Introducing the Rhode Runner CLC Runabout

Ryan & Sofie CLC Rhode Runner Build Timelapse

Sophie and Ryan have poured epoxy onto the foredeck and are scraping it smooth to completely cover the fiberglass cloth.

How To Build a Small Wooden Boat From Scratch (with ‪@ChesapeakeLightCraftBoats‬)

Watch Two Women Craft An Incredible Wooden Boat! (MJ Sailing - Ep 320)

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.

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.

What is LapStitch Construction?

CLC'S LapStitch™ Construction

Patent No. 6,142,093 

Our system combines the unquestioned grace of lapstrake hulls with the proven ease of stitch-and-glue construction. The strength of the LapStitch™ joint is such that the designs require comparatively little fiberglass or fillet work, making them especially easy to build.

Lapstrake hull shapes evolved over millennia. Many would suggest that the type reached a high-water mark with the Viking longboats, but the actual building method was little changed right up into the 20th century. Planks were riveted together, and the technique required prodigious skill on the part of boatbuilders.

Over the last few decades, the advent of modern adhesives and high-quality marine plywood brought about the first major innovation in lapstrake building methods: "glued plywood" lapstrake hulls. This method of planking produces very strong, stiff, and beautiful hulls that never leak. This is progress, to be sure, but glued lapstrake boats still require molds and arcane joinery skills. It isn't a process suited to amateurs.

In 1997, Chesapeake Light Craft developed a way to build lapstrake boats without molds or complex "rolling bevels" on the lapstrake planking. Using sophisticated computer design software, we are now able to devise hull shapes that will assume a round-bottomed shape without a jig or "torturing" of the wood. A special "rabbet," or groove, is machined into each strake so that they are self-aligning. They are wired together just like a stitch-and-glue kayak. When these joints are filled with epoxy, the result is a remarkably stiff and strong hull that is visually indistinguishable from traditional lapstrake planking.

LapStitch construction is featured in these CLC boats:

After more than 15 years of development, the evolution of LapStitch™ has reached the stage where we can render complex lapstrake hull shapes in complete confidence without "strongback" molds.  Chesapeake Light Craft can design and build for you LapStitch™ hulls of any shape or size.  

Speed, Storage, and Style

Helm of Rhode Runner by Wm Bozeman

Rhode Runner's Steering and Throttle Controls

Steering and throttle controls on CLC's Rhode Runner, built and photographed by the Bozeman family. Seen here on High Rock Lake, NC.

The Rhode Runner has storage compartments under the aft seat.

Rhode Runner Aft Seat Storage

Plenty of storage under the aft seat for gas tank, anchor, docklines, and other equipment.

The Rhode Runner sports elegant windshield hardware

Rhode Runner Windshield Hardware

The elegant windshield hardware evokes the days of classic speedboats with split windshields cruising on every lake.

Classes

We Can Help You Build This Boat

We offer classes for many of the boats we sell. For boats, such as this one, we can offer private classes upon request. Some customers also ask us to build the boat for them.

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

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