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Waterlust Sailing Canoe
Sale
Waterlust Sailing Canoe
Sale
Waterlust Sailing Canoe
Sale
Waterlust Sailing Canoe
Sale
Waterlust Sailing Canoe
Waterlust Sailing Canoe Thumbnail
Waterlust Sailing Canoe Thumbnail
Waterlust Sailing Canoe Thumbnail
Waterlust Sailing Canoe Thumbnail
Waterlust Sailing Canoe Thumbnail

Waterlust Sailing Canoe

Builder Testimonials

A beautiful synthesis of the turn-of-the-last-century "canoe yawls," for serious beach-cruising. The cockpit is adapted to take a Hobie Mirage Drive.

  • Skill Level Pro-Kit
  • Estimated Build Time 160 Hours

Build this boat if...

  • Your sense of adventure is piqued by the idea of coastal cruising in small boats.
  • You have some experience building stitch-and-glue boats.
  • You would like a boat that is cartoppable, and can be sailed, paddled, or pedaled.

  • Classic Appeal

    Traditional looks that will never age

  • For Woodcrafters

    Boatbuilders, sharpen your block planes! 

  • Sophisticated Design

    Nothing else like it to buy or build

Build Your Kit

We Can Help You Build this Boat

The Waterlust Team asked Chesapeake Light Craft to design this boat. They worked with us in Annapolis for three weeks to build two boats from start to finish. If you would like assistance in building a Waterlust Sailing Canoe of your own, please contact us.

Specifications

Length
17'0"
Beam
36"
Rowing Draft
4"
Sailing Draft
32"
Sail Area (lug)
80 sq. ft.
Hull Weight
115 lbs.
Max Payload
400 lbs.

Performance

Stability

2 out of 5
Very Tippy
Very Stable

Speed

3 out of 5
Cruiser
Racer

Cockpit Room

2 out of 5
Close Fit
Huge Cockpit

Payload

3 out of 5
Day Tripper
Freight Hauler

Ease of Construction

2 out of 5
Requires Patience
Very Easy
Waterlust Sailing Canoes, "Anna" & "Mia" sailing the Severn River, Annapolis, MD
Waterlust Sailing Canoes, "Anna" & "Mia" sailing the Severn River, Annapolis, MD

Overview

Pro-Kit     THIS IS A PRO-KIT

A Sailing Canoe for Waterlust

In the summer of 2016 Chesapeake Light Craft partnered with the filmmaking team Waterlust to design and build a pair of 17-foot sailing canoes. The Waterlust Team -- Patrick Rynne, Fiona Graham, Laura Graham, and Jennah Caster -- then embarked on a 1,000-mile expedition in the finished canoes from Norfolk, Virginia, down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to their home base in Miami, Florida.

The boats were drawn for Waterlust by CLC's own Dillon Majoros. The design takes its cues from classic sailing canoes of the late 19th century. Dillon has added a higher volume hull with fuller ends for increased carrying capacity, stability, and performance under sail. The hull design includes watertight compartments fore and aft, watertight storage forward of cockpit, and stowage bins port and starboard in the cockpit that double as support rails for the seat. The cockpit extends under the aft deck, and may be used as a berth for the crew. The boat is powered by a yawl rig, which was traditionally used by the type and easy to manage, too.

Among the more unusual features of the design is an integrated Hobie Mirage Drive for auxiliary power.  This drops into a trunk in the cockpit. 

Dillon's elegantly proportioned design generated an avalanche of mail from small boat fanatics. There have been expedition-worthy sailing canoe designs for upwards of 150 years, but the combination of features that Dillon worked into this new design expand its appeal. The Hobie Mirage Drive, in particular, is a remarkable feature. GPS speeds upwards of 6 knots were recorded using the pedal drive alone. But perhaps the best thing about it is the ergonomic arrangement of the cockpit: "motorsailing" with the Mirage Drive is as natural as walking.  For pure sailing, the Mirage Drive can be lifted out of its watertight trunk and stowed in the cockpit.

It is even possible for a single adult to sleep in the cockpit.

 

Waterlust Expedition to Miami

Based in Miami, FL, Waterlust is a unique venture which combines marine science, sport, and art, and then makes incredible videos about it. Inspired by their experience creating a film about the 2015 Race to Alaska, the Waterlust team wanted to do something of a similar scale but with a less frenetic pace that would be easier to film than an offshore race through the wilderness of British Columbia. They opted for a coastal expedition. CLC's reputation for innovative small-craft designs seemed like a good fit for their itinerary, and a partnership was formed.

In July 2016, a matched pair of 17-foot sailing canoes were built, finished, and rigged in a marathon three weeks at CLC's factory in Annapolis, Maryland. The Waterlust crew set off for Miami that August, cameras rolling. The long coastal trip was a perfect trial for the new design. They minded the weather, as sailing-canoe voyagers do, including the menacing Hurricane Hermine, but encountered few issues during the trip.

Here is a short video showing a glimpse of a perfect day afloat.

What Drives Your Waterlust?

We're recommending this design for folks who have built boats using the stitch-and-glue method. Dillon has created a comprehensive 28-page illustrated assembly guide, which you can download from this page to review. For experienced builders this will be an absolutely straightforward boatbuilding project.  

Construction is stitch-and-glue using CLC's LapStitch process. Computer-cut marine plywood panels are stitched together, forming the hull in a matter of hours. Sub-assemblies such as the Mirage Drive trunk and daggerboard trunk are built on the bench and dropped into the hull to be secured with epoxy fillets.  Plenty of fiberglass cloth reinforcement and saturating coats of epoxy yield a stiff, rugged hull that weighs just about 80 pounds. Fully rigged, the Waterlust Sailing Canoe weighs about 115 pounds.

The base hull kit includes all of the computer-cut marine plywood parts, plus milled cypress and mahogany for stringers and trim. Copper wire, epoxy, and fiberglass, are also included.  The sailing component package includes rudder, daggerboard, six spars, and both sails, white in color with one reef.  (Hardware is sold separately for all versions.)

By pedantic definition the Waterlust Sailing Canoe is a cat-ketch, though in spirit it is a cat-yawl. (The mainsail provides most of the drive while the mizzen adds balance and off-wind power.) Those living in windy conditions may opt to set the main mast a bit further back and eliminate the mizzen. The boats are fast and close-winded under sail. Stability is surprisingly solid, though as in any sailing canoe you will not want to cleat the mainsheet!

Buying Options

Choose Your Boatbuilding Experience

Start your kit-building experience by selecting the option that best fits your goals. Don’t have the confidence to build on your own? No worries! Join a boatbuilding class or hire us to build a custom boat for you.

  1. Select Your Configuration

    Build From a Kit:
    Most Pro Kits include, at minimum, the CNC-cut marine plywood parts. Many include epoxy, fiberglass, and timber as well.
    Build From Scratch:

    Source your own materials and hardware, and work from traditional plans.
    Order Study Plans or Assembly Guides:
    Like to study up a bit first? Where available, download study plans or a copy of the assembly guide.

  2. Choose Options and Add-Ons

    Additional Components:
    If this is a sailboat, you’ll need the Sailing Component Kit. Depending on the model, you can choose different sail colors, order a Line & Cordage Package, add nonskid decking, storage covers, 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
$1,730.00 $1,490.00

The Waterlust Sailing Canoe base hull kit includes all of the...

Alternative Configurations

$1,545.00

The Waterlust Sailing Canoe sailing component package include...

$35.00

Neatly illustrated step-by-step building guide intended for k...

$30.00

Neatly illustrated step-by-step instructions intended for kit...

Additional Options

Sale
$598.00 $598.00

The outrigger package increases the stability and capability ...

$119.00

The outrigger package increases the stability and capability ...

$35.00

The outrigger package increases the stability and capability ...

$30.00

The outrigger package increases the stability and capability ...

$920.00

The Waterlust Sailing Canoe's "Lug Yawl" rigging, consists o...

What builders are saying

I am very happy with the Waterlust Sailing Canoe Outrigger kit and the performance of the finished product. As advertised, the outriggers expand the capabilities of the boat. I actually prefer to sail the Waterlust Canoe without the added outriggers, but when used I can relax a bit more, reef a little later and feel safer in cold water and higher winds. I might not recommend the Waterlust Canoe to a beginning sailor, but the added outriggers make it much more possible. Thanks for your contributions to the world of sailing,

Bob W. | IL
Verified Builder

During the 2021 "Florida 120" Sailboat cruise, CRUSADER , my Waterlust Sailing Canoe, performed wonderfully! What an exhilarating trip!! Awesome boat!!! The stats were: Total Distance: 92 statute miles; Total Time Under Way: 19.75 hours; Average Speed: 4.7 mph; Max Speed Surfing Down Waves: 9.7 mph.

Jeff P. | TX
Verified Builder

What fun I have had with my Waterlust Sailing Canoe! Thank you so much for all the work you have put into getting this kit out. I went into the project really unsure of myself having never done anything like it before, but the instructions were clear and the help from the staff made the process pretty straightforward. I look forward to many happy hours under sail!

Guy H. | NOR
Verified Builder

Videos

Building a Sailboat From a Kit! by Waterlust

A Wooden Miragedrive Canoe

Waterlust Sailing Canoe | Boat Profile | Small Boats Nation

Building a Waterlust Sailing Canoe (part 1): getting started

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.  

Extras

HOW TO BUILD A SAILBOAT

The crew of Waterlust asked Chesapeake Light Craft to design a sailing canoe that could be cartopped, and also be driven with a pedal drive . In July 2016, Waterlust came to Annapolis from Florida and built two of these canoes in about three weeks. Starting in August, they spent a month, sailing and carrying those boats down to Florida. The construction and expedition can be seen here.

Classes

We Can Help You Build this Boat

The Waterlust Team asked Chesapeake Light Craft to design this boat. They worked with us in Annapolis for three weeks to build two boats from start to finish. If you would like assistance in building a Waterlust Sailing Canoe of your own, please contact us.

View Classes

Need Help Building it?

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

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