The term “light craft” covers all sorts of vessels, and not just the floating variety. Chesapeake Light Craft (CLC) is introducing build-it-yourself kits for a “teardrop” camper, a craft that will do 70 miles per hour upwind all day long. The light, sleek two-person camper can be towed by the smallest cars with scarcely a blip on fuel consumption. The camper measures eight by five feet and weighs about 250 pounds. The first prototype left the shop of Two Daughters Boatworks in Vermont last fall headed for Colorado. A display model is in the final stages of being finished and outfitted at CLC’s Annapolis facility in time for the spring shows. The name teardrop camper comes from the small, streamlined shape, and the type dates back at least to the 1930s. As cars get smaller, storage space more expensive, and recreational time more precious, a new appreciation is growing for the efficiency of really good teardrop campers.
A fan of small boats, small cars, and small houses, CLC CEO John C. Harris says, “Think of it as a big step up from a tent in terms of comfort and utility, but it’s so compact and light that I can tow it behind my Mini Cooper. Even the smallest mainstream RV trailers are going to require at least a mid-sized tow vehicle.” Teardrops have always been available as build-your-own projects. You can find ads for kits and plans in old magazines from the 1930s and 40s. Construction of the CLC Teardrop will be familiar to anyone who’s built a stitch-and-glue kayak or small boat. Starting from a kit, computer-cut marine plywood panels are bent into a simple mold (included with the kit). The seams are reinforced with epoxy and fiberglass tape. The teardrop is flipped over, the mold removed, and the streamlined, sculptural shell is sheathed on the exterior with a tough coating of fiberglass for strength and durability. Doors and hatches are cut on marks engraved by the computer cutter. Then lots of sanding, installing the galley, and you’re done. CLC’s demo model will be varnished inside and out. It will make a striking statement on the highway. Kits are already in very high demand so CLC is currently taking deposits for May 2016 shipments. The price of the kit is $1799 and the deposit required is 10 percent of the purchase price and is also refundable.
by Rick Franke