Building CLC Stand-up Paddleboards
Brothers Bruce and Nelson Niederer build a beautiful pair of Chesapeake Light Craft stand-up paddleboards for the best kind of friends, the paying kind.
I guess I’m one of those guys who finds retirement much busier than work. In fact, I wonder how I ever found time to work. One of the first projects I started after retiring was helping my brother Nelson build two Chesapeake Light Craft (CLC) stand-up paddleboards (SUPS). We were building them for the best kind of friend—the paying kind.
Choosing a Model
CLC offers various options to fit their customer’s pocket book, ambition, and skill level. (1) You can simply order the plans and cut all the parts from plywood in your own shop. I doubt many take that option because of the inner grid work. (2) The next option is ordering the kit with all the parts delivered pre-cut by CLC. This is the best option, in my opinion. Completing the board is relatively easy for those with limited building skills. Just follow the step-by-step instructions—the stitch and glue construction method is a good place for beginners to start. (3) The easiest option is to choose plywood for building the whole SUP, including the deck, hull, and interior framework. Nelson and I are not beginners (see “My First Cadillac” in Epoxyworks 44, about how we restored a 1954 Cadillac Runabout). We opted for CLC’S upgraded kit with plywood hull and framework but with a stripper deck using pre-cut strips of ash, mahogany, and walnut provided with the kit. We were free to design our own color combination for each deck.