We are a recognized leader in DIY boat kits

All the precut wooden parts and supplies needed to build your own wooden boat

What is in a precut wooden boat kit from Chase Small Craft?

Chase Small Craft has designed the full boat building process to make your project as smooth as possible. Your boat will be easy-to-build and beautiful and ready for adventure.

Building a boat from a kit saves you a great deal of time, not only in construction, but in the sourcing, procuring and quality checking of materials - lumber, hardware, epoxy and accessories.

We pack all materials on a custom built pallet in our shop in Saco, Maine, and ship them directly to your home or shop. All you need to build your boat is a workspace, basic wood tools, and the willingness to give it a go!

Peace of mind is something our customers get: our complete kit customers know we’re always there to support them. See our full length version of this video on our YouTube page.

“I hadn’t fully appreciated the engineering genius that goes into the kit. The accuracy and logic of the parts has been astounding.”

— Michael S., Mattapoisett, MA

What’s in a boat kit?

Our boat kits include the following packages

Featured

Plans and instruction manual

We write and print the instruction book and draft plans on 11x17, bind, and ship these in the kit as well as share them as high-resolution PDFs saved to a shared Google Drive folder, which allows you to view on any device and print or mark up as you wish.

Plywood Kit

The plywood kit is the bread and butter of your build. It includes all parts cut from the highest grade marine-grade plywood made, Bryunzeel Hechtout which is computer numerically cut on our 5x10 MultiCAM , 3-axis CNC router. Parts may include hull, planks, deck and interior structure as well as patterns and jigs. Boats requiring a strongback also come with the chipboard parts required to assemble the building jig.

Timber Kit

The timber kit contains all the solid wood parts required to build the hull and spars. The wood is cut to final dimension and shipped in an 8' box or on the pallet to your door saving you a lot of time sourcing and cutting your own lumber. The parts are labelled and ready to glue to length and install on the boat.

Epoxy & Fiberglass Kit

Our kit comes with purpose-specific epoxy products by System Three and MAS as well as any fiberglass required to build the boat. Our manual and documents direct builders how to use these epoxies for different parts of the project, like gluing and fiberglassing. Sundries and consumables are included that are particularly helpful for working with epoxy and fiberglass.

Hardware kits

Our hardware kits are as highly curated and refined as the cutting files needed to CNC cut your boat. It is important that you have everything you need and of the quality we would want in our own boats. Every hull and deck fitting, block and line you didn’t know you needed is included. Our manual and plans show how to install.

“The kits are really beautiful and well engineered. When we first formed the hull, I thought - THIS IS SO COOL! What a great system.”

— P.K., Boatbuilding 101 Student

What is not included in the boat kit?

Sails, oars, tools, and other options are available

Accessories and upgrades for kits

Essential Hand Tools

We have been helping people build their boats at home and in out classes and have found the need to inventory and offer a tool kit. We feel strongly that the right tools for the job lead to the best experience and great results. Some of these are hard to find, some are not. But we bring them together in once place. They can even ship in the kit!

Sawhorse cradles

We designed these handy sawhorse cradles to hold boats upright in a cradle after turnover. The sawhorse cradles for the skiffs that do not require a strongback are somewhat integral to the build as they can hold the boat upside down or right side up and aid in construction. For boats off the molds, these sawhorses cradle the boat gently for interior construction. After the build, they serve as cradles for storage.

Oarmaking kit

Make your own oars! Clint has made and taught oarmaking for years and after a hiatus he is back at it to offer you these incredible kits. The Spruce loom is cut on our CNC machine to precise dimensions and the spoon-blades are laminated from Okoume veneers in our shop. To build, you shape the loom and glue the blade on the precut curve. Varnish, leather them, and go!

Shaw & Tenney Oars

Shaw and Tenney oars are hand made from the finest Spruce in the world right here in Orono, Maine where they have been in business for 200 years. They have flat-blade and spoon-blade. We can help you decide which way to go. See them at Shaw and Tenney.com

CNC-shaped foils for daggerboards, centerboards, and rudders

We have long appreciated the importance of accurately and smoothly shaped foils on a sailboat. We have perfected the shaping of them on our CNC router and now offer you this new service: dagger- and centerboards precision milled with a foil shape and shipped in your kit ready to fiberglass and finish in your shop.

Dacron sails made to our specifications by the best sailmakers

Our sails are well thought out and crafted pieces of work. Our sailmakers understand the importance of how to properly shape a lug sail and make it both simple and beautiful to adorn your finished boat.

Carbon Fiber masts and spars

As an upgrade to your kit, you may certainly opt for the ultimate in lightness, stiffness, and strength, Carbon Fiber. These spars are made to replace the Spruce mast and/or yard. They are made in Lyme, Connecticut and can be shipped to our shop to be varnished and fitted out with hardware.

Kit options

We have made many options available to customize your kit. These vary from different sail rig choices, choices in the timber kit contents, various arrangements in the boat layout, and hardware upgrades. All are listed on the boat pages. Look for the drop down menu of items specific to that boat. But contact us for more information as details can change.

Paint and varnish kits

When you know the color scheme you would like, tell us what it is and we can have a painting and varnishing kit at your door days later. We can also suggest our signature finishing scheme to you and ship you the kit to make it happen. We have access to satin finish paints, the most appropriate sundries, and the techniques to help you paint and varnish your boat like a pro.

How do I order?

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