My boy and I are building two kayaks this winter (a CLC Chesapeake 16LT and a Cape Charles). We are building from the plans and are enjoying ourselves to no end. I love working with wood and he loves learning to work with wood.

Which brings me to my comment for you. the difference between a kit and the plans comes down to how much you like working with wood coupled with experience. As mentioned in previous posts, it does not take a lot of experience but it does take patience NO MATTER IF YOU USE THE PLANS OR A KIT.

F.Y.I. we will build two kayaks for very close to $500 or $250 each. If you buy a kit they run around $700 I believe and that is not your total cost. Your choice but I have a lot more things I can do with $500.

> Looking for a fast sturdy expedition kayak that can be used for day trips
> as well as 2 week excursions. Never built one before so I am not sure if
> going off plans will be very easy. Need suggestions. Leaning towards the
> CLC Chesapeake 17'.