NSW Sea Kayak Club Kayaking is life, the rest mere detail

Denman Marine has recently become the Australasian agent for the great designs out of Chesapeake Light Craft USA. We are offering both partial and full kits in addition to high quality plans and manual packages for home building with a wide range of kayaks, canoes, sail, power and row boats .

We are offering the extensive range of kit boats in addition to plans and manual packages including a wide selection of great kayak and canoe designs. The designs are aimed at amateur construction using stitch and glue, Lap Stitch or strip planking build methods resulting in functional craft with the natural good looks of a self build wooden boat.  A look into popular plastic kayaks will quickly show the difference in weight. The Chesapeake 16, at 4.77m weighs only 19kg while a similar plastic kayak, the Wilderness System Tsunami 160 at 4.88m weighs 26kg. That 7kg weight saving will make a big difference in carting the kayak about, whether retrieving it from the roof rack or carrying it down to the low tide mark. Another benefit for a self built wooden kayak is that the owner will know every inch of their kayak and will have the skills and knowledge to make any necessary repairs  getting it looking its best after a any knocks that are typical of kayak use. 

We have kayaks designed for most purposes including high volume touring kayaks, surf kayaks, lean racing or training kayaks, strip planked kayaks and most in-between. We are offering wood only kits and full kits that include all materials required to complete the project.  If the builder would prefer to build from plans, we can also offer excellent, highly detailed plans and manual packages.

We feel strongly that these designs are worth promoting and believe they offer your members a opportunity to construct and paddle their own wooden kayak with a significant saving over buying a fibreglass or plastic design. We are offering the full Chesapeake 16 kit at a $1350 while the similar Wilderness System Tsunami 160 is closer to $1900. The kit form requires labour to construct as opposed to a completed plastic kayak, but it is often the enjoyment had during the build process that attracts people to these designs.