Boatbuilding Classes

Build Your Own Kaholo Stand-Up Paddleboard

Location: International Yacht Restoration School - Newport, Rhode Island
Dates: Aug 16, 2009 - Aug 21, 2009

Instructor:
Ed Wigglesworth

Tuition & Materials:
Kit Cost: $749
Tuition: $750
Helper Fee (optional, if you'd like to bring friend for the week): $375
Register online at clcboats.com

Other Considerations:
Class Policies
Newport Area Accomodations
Tools and Supplies
Boatbuilding Class FAQs

Class Details:

Why are Stand-Up Paddleboards all the rage? Because they're ridiculously fun--like walking on water.  We made a lot of believers out of folks who tried out our new Kaholo SUP kit in Newport Beach, Sacramento, and Port Townsend during our West Coast tour.

The Kaholo stand-up paddleboard is fast enough to win races, stable enough for beginners, and better-looking than anything in the SUP world.  Build and customize your own 28-pound board and learn how to walk on water with a stand-up paddleboard.

It's taken 18 months and more prototypes than we care to count to refine the Kaholo SUP.  Working with surfing and paddleboard guru Larry Froley of Gray Whale Trading in California, we've created a board with that rare quality of being fast enough to race but stable enough for first-timers.  Tracking is great and a fine bow with kayak-derived shaping lifts the Kaholo up and over waves.  The tail shape and twin fins facilitate surfing once your skills build up to that.

Designer John C. Harris counted himself among the skeptics before trying one out in California in 2006.  "It's the most amazing sensation---as close to walking on water as you're going to get.  But a little faster.  You achieve kayak-like speeds, but your visibility is vastly improved because your head is so much further off the water.  You can see more, see further, and in clear water you have a much better view of sea life than you do in a kayak."

It's also a major workout---every muscle in your body is at work as you ride over waves and work the long-handled SUP paddle.  If taking a walk is healthy, taking a walk on water is healthy AND the view is better.  Harris says he can envision shifting one of his hobbies---wandering marinas on foot looking at boats---to a Kaholo.  Nature lover?  Paddle quietly through the shallows.