Duckworks Is Closing But Boat Plans Will Continue—Thanks to Chuck

Losses, Rising Costs Kill a Great Business, But There’s Some Good News

This is a painful story to tell, since I’ve had a personal relationship with Duckworks Boat Builders Supply for a long time—first as a customer, then with Josh and Anika Colvin during their ownership, and finally working alongside founder Chuck Leinweber in a tech-support role this past year. So this is the hard part: The parent corporation that owns Gig Harbor Boat Works and Duckworks, based in California, has told staff members that Duckworks will be permanently closed, effective not later than September 1.

(GHBW is not affected by the announcement.)

The reasons are familiar: Rising costs, slimmer margins, tariffs (or the paralyzing fear of them), and in the case of Duckworks, the threat that future losses might be worse than today’s red ink.

In a press release just issued, Sommer Ueda, VP of Sales & Operations, said “We are deeply grateful to the customers, designers and makers who have been part of the Duckworks journey for the past two and a half decades…We’ve been honored to serve generations of builders around the world.”

She continued, “While warehouse operations are ending, the Duckworks legacy will continue in a new way. Duckworks founder Chuck Leinweber is working closely with plan designers to establish a new marketplace where customers can continue to access the high-quality plans they’ve come to know and love. We will support Chuck during this transition and share more information as the details are finalized.”

Here are the details, as of today: Chuck has purchased the Duckworks domain name, so once the transfer of boat-plan files is completed—following final closure of Duckworks—plans will once again be accessed via the current website, www.duckworks.com (But only plans and sails—other sections of the current Duckworks website will have disappeared.)

Over the past week, Duckworks has started eliminating inventory with a 50%-off sale that is continuing at www.duckworks.com. Many items have already sold out, but the sale will last for the rest of this month, or longer. (Due to the unprecedented volume of orders, please be patient because shipments might take ten or more days…but all orders will be filled.)

While saddened by the closure of Duckworks, we’ve known the company did okay at different points—especially during early stages of the pandemic, when many folks were suddenly working from home and eager to do something fun there…like build a boat in the basement. So there was a tangible surge in the sale of plans, hardware, epoxy products and other small-boat supplies. But more recently, small businesses in many sectors have struggled to maintain amid all of the factors mentioned above. And so slight losses became incrementally larger at Duckworks, leading to the closure decision.

Chuck Leinweber started Duckworks in the second bedroom of his Harper, Texas home in 1999, after building a variety of small boats and realizing there was a market for information…and maybe small-boat products. First he and Sandra launched Duckworks Magazine (you can still find back issues online), but it wasn’t long before Chuck became friends with a lot of small-boat designers and started the broader Duckworks chandlery, representing designers and selling copies of their boat plans as a front door to Duckworks Boat Builders Supply.

The business grew at a slow but steady rate, moving into a metal warehouse several years after launching. Chuck and Sandra were soon known across the world of small boats for friendly, knowledgeable service, fast shipping and fair prices. (During those early years, Duckworks was a mysterious gift—a wonderfully-efficient little outfit with a funny name, in a small Texas town, so different from mega corporations that offered higher prices and shockingly poor customer service. Placing an order with Duckworks, speaking with key people who knew their stuff, was a simple, oddly heartwarming experience.)

Josh Colvin: “I’ve known Chuck and Sandra for years, since the early days of Small Craft Advisor. They’re among the best people I know—high praise from someone who’s spent weeks stuck in tiny boats with Chuck, and who’s partnered with him in business.”

“When Chuck hinted at retirement in 2016,” Josh continues, “I offered to buy the company. Soon after, we found ourselves driving a giant U-Haul loaded with boat hardware from Harper, Texas to Port Townsend. Even after the move, Chuck remained deeply involved, and we had a successful run before I sold the business in 2022, after acquiring Glen-L Marine Designs and realizing that running three companies (including Small Craft Advisor), didn’t leave enough time for a family with three growing kids.”

Josh adds: “I was shocked to hear Duckworks was closing but relieved to learn Chuck would keep the flag flying by selling boat plans. We’ve always shared a deep love for small boats, adventure, and the community of friends and fellow sailors. Duckworks hasn’t been just a supplier—buyers can source materials and some plans anywhere—but it’s the relationships that have made Duckworks special. With Chuck at the helm, both plan buyers and also boat designers are in excellent hands.”

The Evolution and End of Duckworks Boat Builders Supply, clockwise from Upper Left: Chuck Leinweber started Duckworks Magazine in 1999, and soon added Duckworks Boat Builders Supply; Upper Right: Josh Colvin and hard-working Tammy in the midst of unloading and organizing Duckworks inventory after Josh made the U-Haul drive to Port Townsend from Harper, Texas; Lower Right: Tammy, Arelan (warehouse manager, left background), and Katie filling orders in the Gig Harbor location, following the 2022 sale; and Lower Left: Katie Malik and her Dad, Dave Robertson, who founded Gig Harbor Boat Works. Katie grew up in the business and was GM of GHBW and Duckworks until a few weeks ago, when the owners of GHBW and Duckworks fired Katie and Tammy, then suspended boat-plan sales and told remaining staffers that Duckworks would be closed by not later than September 1.

So, while we await the formal reopening of the world’s largest collection of buildable small-boat plans, let’s go down Memory Lane with Chuck and Sandra, during the formative years at Duckworks Boat Builders Supply.

Here are some images Chuck shared this morning, with Chuck’s captions:

John Welsford (center) visited Texas in 2004 and we organized a quick messabout at Canyon Lake.

Mik Storer came to Lake Powell in 2005 for a kayak expedition. He posed for us under Castle Rock on Good Hope Bay. (He was paddling a Jim Michalak-designed kayak. This trip inspired Mik to design his popular Quick Canoe.)

In 2008, we visited designer Ross Lillistone in Australia. Here he is in his boatshop.

We got Jim Michalak (sitting) to come down for the Texas 200 in 2010. He sailed with me in a 25’ Cat Ketch that he’d designed and I built.

2012: (L to R) Cindy, our first employee, me, and Sandra, in our first real Duckworks warehouse.

Besides starting Duckworks, Chuck took part in some early runnings of the Everglades Challenge race in Florida, and launched the Texas 200 Sailing Club, organizing the annual Gulf Coast marathon that is the Texas 200, where he has sometimes been affectionately known as “Chuck the Duck.”

Here are a few photos from the Texas 200…

Here is Chuck, center, with his grandson Harper, left, and William Moffitt on a James Wharram catamaran. According to Pat Hollabaugh, who posted the photo, “Chuck started this Texas 200 craziness. The man is just infectious.”

A beach-camping shot from the Texas 200; photographer and participants unidentified.

More Photos of Chuck and the Duckworks Story, from Josh Colvin:

Chuck paddling during a run down the Rio Grande river in Texas (joined by Josh, who shot the photo)

Chuck having fun during another Texas 200, the event he created and has continued to help organize.

Josh rented the biggest U-Haul truck available, here arriving at Chuck’s Harper, Texas warehouse to load and transport all Duckworks inventory to Port Townsend, in 2016.

Chuck at the helm in rainy conditions.

In coming weeks the founder of Duckworks Boat Builders Supply will once again control the Duckworks domain name and boat-plans portion of the business, helping customers select and buy plans and sails that are just right for their next projects. In the meantime, Chuck asks all Small Craft Advisor readers to please take advantage of the 50%-off liquidation sale being held at Duckworks (the sooner it’s over, the sooner Chuck reactivates the plans business)….www.duckworks.com…and he also wants to let folks know that right now, before he officially relaunches the Duckworks boat-plans site, you can purchase plans you’ve already decided on directly from Chuck. Just email him at chuck.leinweber@gmail.com to order plans…or to just say thanks for everything Chuck’s done for everyone over the past quarter century.

Thanks, as always, for reading. - Marty