Novice woodworkers and weekend hobbyists with limited free time may be reluctant to take on the complex original Petrel kayak design. The solution is a plywood version of the 17-foot Petrel, designed with great deliberation to retain the strip-planked original's point-and-shoot handling.
The Petrel SG offers features not found in any other kayak kit. Recessed SeaLect hatches fore and aft AND a recessed SeaLect day hatch are standard. The cockpit is also recessed to make rolling easier. A retractable skeg is also standard in the kit.
The new stitch-and-glue version of the Petrel eliminates the fussy strip-planking procedure, which involves cutting and fitting scores of individual cedar strips over a mold. Instead, computer-cut plywood panels for the hull and deck are stitched together with wire, then reinforced with epoxy and fiberglass. The simplified plywood hull has its own sculptural qualities, and gives up none of the performance of the original.
