Greenland-style hulls provide telepathic handling to the skilled paddler, while initial and secondary stability are ample for the newly initiated. On the water, the Shearwater demonstrates excellent poise and responsiveness in a broad range of conditions, edging turns easily when leaned but tracking straight when pushed hard in surf. A cutaway bow and skeg-like stern ensures tracking even in extremely rough water. The relatively low profile means you'll spend less time on corrective strokes and more time covering ground.

A complex specification was drawn up for a line of boats that combined speed and handling with roomy cockpits and easy construction. For this very challenging design brief, Harris selected veteran paddler and kayak designer Eric Schade. "I had paddled Eric's Merganser design about five years ago and it had many of the qualities we wanted: a good-looking West Greenland-style hull with great tracking and steering." Harris wanted a distinctive and attractive deck design, however, and over the winter several prototypes were built testing different approaches. The final deck scheme is functional, elegant, easy to assemble, and unique.

Striking and innovative, the Shearwater's deck retains the gentle camber but the sheer panel of the hull is raked inward to reduce windage and increase paddle clearance. The sweeping sheerline complements the nicely balanced ends; there isn't an awkward hump or a bump anywhere. On the water, the Shearwater demonstrates excellent poise and responsiveness in a broad range of conditions, edging turns easily when leaned but tracking straight when pushed hard in surfing conditions. The relatively low profile means you'll spend less time on corrective strokes and more time covering ground.

The Shearwater design abounds in interesting and innovative features. To emphasise the clean lines, the decks are computer cut from sapele plywood, a beautiful mahogany with a reddish-brown swirling grain, to contrast with the honey-coloured okoume sides and bottoms. Flush hatches are standard. Veteran stitch-and-glue builders will find notable tweaks in the Shearwater kits, including CNC-cut "finger joints" instead of the more typical scarf joints. The finger joints eliminate the alignment step required of scarf joints, so parts are quicker to assemble and impossible to misalign. Another luxury in the Shearwater kits is that 99% of the holes for the wire stitches have been drilled for you by our CNC machine. This means faster assembly and no measuring for bulkhead locations, as those holes are drilled, too.

Shearwater 14:

Length 14’ 6" (4.42)
Beam 23” (584 mm)
Weight 39 lb (17.7 kg)
Cockpit 31” x 16-½” (787mm x 419 mm)
Knee Height 10" (254 mm)

Recommended paddler:

100 – 150 lb (45 – 68 kg)
Max shoe size 9.5/43

Shearwater 17:

Length 17’ (5.18m)
Beam 22.25” (565 mm)
Weight 44 lb (20 kg)
Cockpit 31” x 16-3/8” (787mm x 415 mm)
Knee Height 10” (254 mm)

Recommended paddler:

130 – 220 lb (58 – 99 kg)
Max shoe size 12/46

Kit comprises:
* Pre-cut wooden parts
* Pre-drilled panels
* Epoxy
* Glass cloth
* Construction manual
* Set of plans
* Luxury tractor Seat
* Back band
* Deck rigging
* Footbrace

Kit comprises:
* Pre-cut wooden parts
* Pre-drilled panels
* Epoxy
* Glass cloth
* Construction manual
* Set of plans
* Luxury tractor seat
* Back band
* Deck rigging
* Footbrace

Plans and manual for building the Shearwater.

The plans provide full sized templates and there is sufficient information for the boat to be built from scratch.