Build-Your-Own Kaholo Stand Up Paddleboard Class at Great Lakes Boat Building School

In this one-week class, you will build either a 12-1/2-foot or 14-foot Kaholo paddleboard. It took more than five years for the team at Chesapeake Light Craft to develop the Kaholo designs, boards with that rare quality of being fast enough to race but stable enough for first-timers. Tracking is great and a narrow nose with kayak-derived shaping lifts the Kaholos up and over waves. www.clcboats.com/boatbuilding_classes/367.html

First seen in Hawaii, SUP boards have exploded in popularity. This freshly rediscovered sport has the paddler standing on a long surfboard, propelled by an extra-long paddle. SUPs have caught on in numbers that are more than simply faddish. Why? It is as close as you can get to walking on water. The increased visibility of the standing position changes your entire perspective on your local waters. And unlike surfing, anyone can do it! While some enter races and venture into the ocean, most use their boards to explore bays, rivers, and quiet waterways all over the world.

The 14 is better for larger paddlers, 190lbs or more (or those who might carry along dogs or small kids). The 12-6 is more compact, best for smaller-statured paddlers, and it fits in several increasingly popular racing classes. There are no other SUP boards in the world that are easier for a first-time boatbuilder.

Starting from a computer-cut Chesapeake Light Craft kit, you’ll build your wooden Kaholo stitch-and-glue style. Okoume plywood panels are joined to form the board’s shape, and the interior reinforced with a grid of aircraft-like frames for stiffness and light weight. Epoxy and fiberglass add strength and durability. Proper deck pads and carrying handles are included. You may add whimsical decoration to your board, such as Hawaiian fabrics beneath the fiberglass. There are many SUPs, but the one you built yourself will be absolutely unique.