Great Gift Ideas for Boatbuilders!

Whether you're putting together your note to Santa, or looking for the perfect gift for the boatbuilder (or boat lover) in your family, we're here to help.

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CLC Gift Card1. Gift Cards

First on any boatbuilder's list is a CLC Gift Card. No worries for Santa about getting just the right piece of hardware or the right size cockpit cover or paddle. Plus they're a lot easier to wrap up and/or carry down the chimney. 

2. Northeaster Dory Scale Model Kit

Scale Model Northeaster Dory

In 2016 CLC purchased a large laser-cutter, and we've spent the last year developing scale model kits for popular CLC models. The Northeaster Dory is the first to debut, after we took great pains with the documentation. Along with a detailed step-by-step assembly manual, we've created a how-to video that takes you from start to finish.

This kit is an accurate one-eighth scale rendition of the Northeaster Dory. Construction follows the same sequence as the full-sized version, so much so that you could probably use the 17-footer's instruction manual to build the model. The major difference is that the model requires no fiberglass and epoxy work! Nevertheless, we found that the assembly process was very similar at full and one-eighth scale. Thus it's a great practice run for any of CLC's larger stitch-and-glue kits.

NEW! Just $99

3. CLC Tool Box Kit

CLC Tool Box Kit, Assembled

The CLC Tool Box is the boatbuilder's interpretation of the classic "tab-and-slot" type, favored by woodworkers for its ease of assembly and flexibility. As the name suggests, the tool box goes together with mortise-and-tenon joints, with two locking "keys" to hold the whole assembly together. And since it's made of premium marine-grade plywood, just like our boat and camper kits, the CLC Tool Box is rigid and durable.

4. Cradle Boat Kits

The CLC Cradle Boat is an exact 50% replica of the Eastport Pram, 47 inches long.  The hulls are identical in nearly every way, especially the hull shape, and construction is similar.  We've tweaked the interior to better suit the little ones, who won't need a rowing seat and daggerboard trunk just yet.

A very popular option is a conversion to a proper coffee table.  This add-on kit includes a computer-cut top in premium marine-grade clear acrylic, ready to drop into place, plus a sturdy and attractive base that bolts on in place of the rockers.  (You can easily switch between cradle boat and coffee table if desired.)

5. Cool Boatbuilding Tees

Show the world what goes through the mind of a wooden boatbuilder with Your Brain on Boatbuilding T-shirt, which is based upon decades of study by Chesapeake Light Craft boatbuilders.

Or wear your favorite CLC designs in silhouette. Choose from kayaks or small craft.

6. Boatbuilding Books

Fascinated by the beauty of strip-built boats, but not sure you're ready to take on a project like that? Or maybe you'd like to share an introduction to the art of strip-building with another builder or would-be builder. Choose one of Nick Schade's excellent texts on the subject.

Of course there are plenty of other interesting and useful books and DVDs on our shelves for winter armchair dreaming and learning, too. Check out the selection!

7. Kayak Paddles On Sale

Suprise the kayaker in your life with a brand new paddle. These are best prices you'll find on a handful of quality Werner paddles.

Up to $87 off!

8. Simple Model Dory Kits

Scale model boat kits are great as a gift, as a winter project, or as a handsome decoration for the mantelpiece to complement the fleet in the garage.

Our 24" x 7" Banks-Style Model Dory Kit is a perfect introduction to stitch-and-glue boatbuilding. Just like our larger boat kits, parts are CNC-cut from 3mm plywood, stitched together with copper wire, and glued up with epoxy.  Have fun with the finish and this Model Dory will be an attractive addition to the mantle, office, or a child's bedroom.  It floats, too. 

9. Comfy Kayak Seats

Wood Duckling 8 Kid's Kayak10. Wood Duckling Kits

The Wood Duckling will handle kids from 35 to 100 pounds. At only 22 pounds completed and rigged, this is a kayak that the little ones can manage on the beach, too!  It'll fit inside the larger minivans, with the bow just poking between the front seats.  

The best part:  this is the quickest kit in our catalog to build.  Set aside about 50 hours on average to do a creditable job of it.  This is a perfect first-time boatbuilding project for kids or their kid-at-heart folks.

11. Boat Plans

Thousands of builders have assembled Chesapeake Light Craft boats from scratch with these plans. You might already have a stash of marine grade plywood and epoxy, or it might just be your preference to build a whole boat from the keel up.

Choose from nearly 80 designs available as plans.  And if you want to sample a set before you buy, check out our collection of $1 study plans! 

12. Pennants for Sailors

Pennant flags have an ancient history in sailing vessels.  600-year-old paintings of sailing ships show them. They were indispensable to warships during the Age of Sail, as they identified the vessel and the captain aboard.  These days, a pennant is a grace note, an elegant streamer flown from the highest point on traditional smallcraft like the Eastport Pram, Skerry, Northeaster Dory, PocketShip, or any other small sailing boat of classic good looks.

Handmade at our Annapolis shop, these pennants are cut from premium dark red spinnaker fabric from the sailmaker's loft.

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