Eastport Pram

Product Description

The Eastport Pram, with more than 800 built, is one of the most popular small dinghies.

I'm VERY pleased with the boat. The weather has not been brilliant but here are some shots. When I get some better ones of her I'll send them on.

S.L.

The Eastport Pram is pretty, light, tough, roomy, and easy to build. It is just 7′ 9″ long and 48″ wide, but will hold about 375 pounds. She's built from 6mm okoume using the LapStitch method so that it resembles clinker. The finished boat looks like it was built by a seasoned craftsman, but it will take a novice only about 50 hours to assemble the Pram.

This boat is for people who want a light boat to take to different waters and to mess about in when on holiday. The Eastport Pram is so light it is very easily put on a roof rack. It is small enough to be carried whilst towing a caravan. Many people use inflatable boats to ferry goods and crew between the shore and their main boats. The problem with inflatable boats is that they are hard to row so inevitably noisy outboard motors are needed. The Eastport Pram is designed to overcome the problems and be light and easy to row. Small tenders should be able to withstand heavy handling alongside the mothership or in the dinghy park. Planking is 6mm okoume throughout, with three 9mm frames and seats. There's a big, deep skeg for tracking under tow. In addition to multiple layers of fibreglass on the bottom panel, there are two cypress rubbing strips on the bottom to take the abrasion of dragging on a beach. For added safety, permanent flotation tanks are built in beneath the seats.

The Eastport Pram has a deep rocker for low wetted surface and to keep the transoms from dragging. The result is a boat that is as easy and satisfying to row as you can expect on such a short waterline. Used as a tender to a larger boat, or kept at a dock, it's possible to undertake a long afternoon row around the local waters without breaking a sweat.

The Eastport Pram is built using CLC's patented LapStitch™ joints which means that the result is a remarkably stiff and strong hull that has the appearance of traditional lapstrake or clinker planking.

The panels on this kit are pre-drilled and the bulkhead positions are pre-marked so that it is possible build the boat without having to measure for locations.

This pram would also make a great first boat-building project, a wonderful fishing boat for a small lake, or a child's first boat.

The kit includes:

• Pre-cut wooden panels with pre-cut joints
• Pre-drilled tie holes
• Panel location marks
• Epoxy resin
• Epoxy activator
• Epoxy fillers
• Woven glass fabric
• Woven glass tape
• Ties
• Hatch, seals and screws
• Comprehensive building manual
• Pair of silicon bronze rowlocks and sockets
• Free technical support from a competent builder

What is in a boat kit.

Plans and Manual

This is intended for pre-build study or to help with the decision to purchase. Reading this manual will help you decide whether or not you can build the boat. It is the manual that accompanies the kits. It describes all of the techniques that will be used during the building and also a step by step guide to construction. Scale drawings are used throughout as well as photographs of critical jobs.

If, later, you decide to purchase the kit the cost of this printed manual will be deducted from the kit price.

These contain the plans of the panels with the cutting instructions so it is possible to build the boat from scratch using these.

Sailing Option

This option can be retrospectively fitted and it turns the Pram hull into an able sailing boat.

The rig is easy to set up and handle, powerful for its size, and stows inside the hull when not in use.

With the optional sailing rig the pram makes a splendid sail trainer. Tiny responsive boats like this offer immediate feedback and give sailors tremendous confidence in their ability to predict how any boat will behave. It is often said that you will learn more about sailing in a few days in a dinghy than in years of ‘cruising’ in big boats. Many big boat sailors still get nervous sailing up to a dock or manoeuvring through a crowded harbour without an engine. These are the very skills that are improved in tiny boats. Of course, improving sailing skills is not the only reason to sail a dinghy; charging around in the Eastport Pram is simply fun. The Pram has been designed with a strengthened hull and longer skeg to make it ideal for towing as a tender.

The option includes:

• Mast
• Boom
• Yard
• Mast step
• Board
• Fittings
• Rudder
• Tiller

The sailing option does not include the sails or warp although we can supply them.