Perhaps others will chime in but I think most of the people who have done this basically strip built pannels that coppied the ones in the kit and then glued them down in place of the origionals.  It is not an "official kit" unless something has changed recently or is in the works.  Call CLC. 

Ed

I, too, remember this being in the works but don't see anything official. I built a 14' from plans using a strip-stitch-and-glue method. Instead of plywood, I cut parts from glued panels of cedar strips. The hull was glassed inside and out after assembly. Using plywood for the hull certainly would have been quicker and simpler.

With a hybrid kayak, you glue up the deck strips on the form, then remove it and glass to "lock in" the shape. But in this case, the deck is all but flat sawI no need to glue up the deck strips in situ. I simply glued up a flat panel of strips slightly larger than the deck outline. I glassed both sides of the deck panel before gluing it to the hull and then trimmed it to size with a router. The deck panel only has a gentle bend, so this was easy even with heavy glass. I used two layers of 4oz on the underside of the deck and a single layer on the top.

If CLC offers a hybrid kit (maybe if you call?) that's the way to go, but if not, buying plans and materials a la carte is probably a better deal than buying a full kit and discarding the deck material. You'd need substantially less plywood if you planned on a cedar stripped deck.You can also buy precut frames- really the only onerous cutting involved.

Don't see any reason why this wouldnt work with the 12'6" as well.

Plenty of people seem to have done this- I bet you'll find more opinions.

Good luck, and post pictures!

Patrick

We built a "hybrid" Kaholo over the winter, taking photos to create an instruction manual for that approach.  It's really very straightforward:  simply swapping out the plywood deck for cedar strips.  Because the deck is flat, it's really easy.  Loads of builders have done it on their own. (A lovely example here.)

You just create a flat panel of edge-glued strips in whatever design strikes your fancy:

Fiberglass the underside:

Then glue it down to the board just as you would have the stock plywood deck:

Then trim the deck and 'glass the top.  That's it.

All of this will be in a step-by-step manual soon, though you can order a "hybrid" Kaholo kit just by calling up.  Note also in the photo above the single fin box, to which we'll be converting all Kaholos in coming months.  You'll be able to mount any of a thousand different aftermarket fins, and they are removable for easier transport and storage.

   Thanks for the replies. I'm guessing that a hybrid might be a tad heavier. (?)