While inflatable, modular, and foldable designs have made transporting a small boat more convenient than ever, there’s just something more organic and attractive when taking to the water on a real boat. You know, one you actually had to struggle strapping on your roof rack and carrying down to the water using all your might. When the boat is as beautiful as the Escobedo Sea Dart, I’d say the extra trouble should be worth it.
Billed as a kayak-and-canoe hybrid, it has a cockpit much bigger than a traditional kayak’s, albeit without spanning the entire length of the boat like a typical canoe. Whatever it ends up being categorized as, it’s awesome, with the ability to draft shallow (so you can access river deltas and creeks), track straight (so you can stay on course even in less-calm waters), and stay stable while you stand (so you can use it for fishing or duck hunting).
The Escobedo Sea Dart is constructed using a Viking-era boatbuilding technique called lapstrake method, which involves overlapping separate panels, gluing them, and coating the ensemble with fiberglass before sanding by hand. They use Joubert Okoume marine plywood for the entire boat, by the way, so you’re getting premium materials, with the construction ensuring the resulting watercraft is strong and free from complicated hardware. It measures 15.75 feet and weighs just 55 pounds, too, so you should be able to load this on and off the roof rack without much hassle (well, a little hassle).
Available in Oyster, Mist, and Moon Dust finishes, the Escobedo Sea Dart is priced starting at $8,500.
