Mill Creek 16.5 Hybrid

Product Description

A Mill Creek sea kayak with an attractive wood-strip deck. The hull is identical to that of the standard Mill Creek.

There is plenty of opportunity to express your artistic side with the patterns. Moulds or temporary bulkheads are set into the hull at various stations and used to support the deck as it is assembled from thin strips of wood. Once the deck is assembled it is removed, the moulds discarded, and then replaced permanently. The top of the deck is then glassed and epoxy coated for protection.

The Mill Creek 16.5 will carry two adults together with camping gear but is still light enough to be paddled by one. It makes a wonderful sailing boat, sailing well with a standing or balanced lug sail.

Kit

The kit contains computer-cut Okoume panels assembled with pre-cut joints so it goes together quickly. The temporary bulkheads are pre-cut to the correct size to support the deck. The included wooden strips are milled with a ‘bead and cove’ joint so that one slides into the next for a perfect fit. While we offer suggested patterns, each builder can develop their own unique strip deck design as they assemble their kit.

The kit includes:

• Pre-cut wooden panels with pre-cut joints and pre-drilled tie holes
• Pre-cut solid wood components with pre-cut joints
• Pre-cut temporary bulkheads
• A mixture of red cedar strips and paulownia strips with bead-and-cove joints
• Sapele rubrails
• Waterproof glue for the wooden strips
• Epoxy resin and activator
• Epoxy fillers
• Copper ties
• Woven glass fabric
• Woven glass tape
• Wooden slatted seats
• Comprehensive building manual
• Set of plans
• Free technical support from a competent builder

We supply roughly one-third red cedar strips and two-thirds Paulownia strips as standard but if you have a particular pattern in mind, we can provide a different ratio if you contact us before ordering. We can also supply yellow cedar strips.

The boats come with traditional slatted seats but an option is available which replaces them with a foam seat and backband for less than the standard price. They are not as pretty as the traditional seats but more comfortable for long distance work. The Mill Creek 16.5 has two seats. The seats are available separately but will save you money if purchased as an upgrade to the kit.

The sealed buoyancy chambers under the fore and aft decks require some means of ventilation. When the boat is not in use, they should be opened to allow the air pressure to equalise in response to temperature changes. You can do this by installing a pair of drain plugs or inspection hatches in the bulkheads or by installing deck hatches, which will also provide storage.

What else do I need?

Study manual

This is intended for pre-build study or to help with the decision to purchase. This is the comprehensive manual that accompanies the kit; reading it will help you decide whether or not you can build the boat. It describes all of the techniques that will be used during the build and also a step by step guide to construction. Scale drawings are used throughout as well as photographs of critical jobs.

If, later, you decide to purchase the kit the cost of this manual will be deducted from the kit price.

The manual does not contain the cutting instructions so it is not possible to build the boat from scratch using only this.

PDF study plans

These study plans are intended to give you an overview of the construction of the boat. They are in PDF format that can be viewed using Adobe Reader. There are two pages and they measure 279 × 216 mm (11″ × 8½″). They can be printed for carrying around.

After credit card authorisation the plans will be sent to the email address put on the order form.

When you have studied the plans, your next step might be to order the printed instruction manual, which will walk you through the project step-by-step.

Wood

This option contains only the building manual and pre-cut wooden parts including the temporary bulkheads and wooden strips, but does not include the other items listed above as being in the full kit. This option is for those wanting to obtain the other materials needed to build the boat from other sources.

Compare this kayak with others.