Dream Boat

Although many of us are working on, thinking about, or have finished a boat recently, there's always "the next one".

So... What would that one be for you?  What would your next "dream boat" be?

Mine will have to be either a pram style like Montana's Freestone Skiff or a 14' double ender.  Something for small water or high lake fishing in central Oregon waters...

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Permalink Reply by lhedrick on December 3, 2010 at 7:36am
I have a question. Of all styles, why a pram?

Seems to me a boat should never have a transom up front. Unless it's a barge or something. I built one about 45 years ago. For some reason my father insisted I build a pram. I still don't get it. I wonder where that pram is? Likely in a pile of dust in some old barn back in Pennsylvania along with our 2 old town canoes.

Help me understand this pram thing.
Permalink Reply by Troy Nicolls on December 3, 2010 at 7:53am
I've been thinking of a pram style boat myself, even after building a trapper. I guess it's the additional space and shallow draft for a given length that attract's me. In reality I can see there is no one dream boat. I've only been building boats a short while and as with all boats I can already see you need a different boat for each river you fish...in order to justify another build. If I could only have one wood boat and no other boats period, I would opt for a rapid robert. River rowable, shallow draft and you can hang a motor on it if you want, but I will probably never build one.
Permalink Reply by Jordan Davis on December 3, 2010 at 10:15am
Well, I probably like them because of the purpose. More of a "fishing style" and in my case a "fly fishing style boat. I don't row heavy whitewater, have no want or inclination to do so, and probably never will. My boats are and always will be intended for use fly fishing quiet waters. It my meditation, my time with God. Whitewater has no draw for me as it does so many others. So from my standpoint a nice little, beautifully designed skiff (I am building a 17' drifter at this moment, so I have the bigger water covered...FYI) will work awesomely for quiet times on high lakes and slow floats for western cuts!
Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on December 3, 2010 at 11:12am
More displacement per size.
Less overall weight per functional bottom shape.
Less length is often easier to store- "as in fit in the back of a truck"

More displacement on the ends of the boat. That is why A.J., Ray, and Cyrus added the transoms to their Rocky Mountain fly fishing boat. With a transom on each end it has a wider bottom to carry the weight of the angler on each end of the boat.

With short boats it is one of the only ways to maintain reasonable displacement per length. For lightweight boats you can cut off the extra weight of the pointed end.
Permalink Reply by Dave Z on December 3, 2010 at 8:07am
Flat water man. A flat ender is a versatile boat for the right water type. Each boat has its purpose.
A boat flat on both ends has more interior space for length, right?
A 10 foot pram with a 48" bottom will have more space than a 10 foot double ender, will it not?

A wide bottom for an extended portion of a boat will have more surface area which reduces draft.
Permalink Reply by Jordan Davis on December 3, 2010 at 6:23pm
Now that we have have established why Prams are SO AWESOME who else wants to chime in an tell us about their dream boat?!?!
Permalink Reply by Jon Carter on December 4, 2010 at 6:29am
I'll add one more part of the dream - the ability to put it on top the truck. My drift boat is wonderful but when I am pulling our travel trailer there is always the "how do I get my toys there" question. I have tried to build a rack that would do the job but the high bow and stern make it pretty tough. I have been playing with building a modified pram design so I could have an acceptable boat without making two trips.
Permalink Reply by Russ Tuter on December 4, 2010 at 9:02am
I don't know if it is my "Dream Boat" or not, I have not built it yet, but my next will be a 15' Double ender.
Permalink Reply by larry Hambley on December 4, 2010 at 4:11pm
I am thinking about a small light boat that would be hinged in the middle and could be carried in the bed of a pick-up. You would bolt it together when arriving at launch area. This eliminates a trailer or wrestling a boat onto a roof rack. It would actually be two small boats combined to form one. Has anyone seen or heard of such a contraption?
Permalink Reply by Dave Z on December 4, 2010 at 5:46pm
Larry,

I have alot of folks asking my about a take-down wood boat. Most of them are anti- trailer folks for some reason. I haven't explored it, but I bet you'd have alot of interest in such a thing.
Permalink Reply by Riverman on December 4, 2010 at 9:08pm
I often fish on a river that is moving really slow (1 mph or less), but has a short class-II at the end of the 7-mile day float.

I need a rig that would get me though the miles of slow water without wearing myself out rowing, then with good stability for the class-II at the end.
Permalink Reply by Kevin C. on December 5, 2010 at 8:31am
I spend alot of my float time in one or the other of boats in AJ's fleet while entertaining guests on the Snake here in Jackson and so I get a feel for different types of drifters from our 20' ,65"(?) bottomed modified Mackenzie style to the "little red" pram to the 16-48 Woodie Hindman restore to a 17 -54 Ray's to my own attempt at re-creating Buzz Holstum's "Silver Steak" and I have to admit honestly I prefer mine to all of them.Shallow draft,fore and aft decks,slideable ,simple seats,Rapid robert design,that with a bit of reconstruction could be fit with a motor.It maneuvers on moving water like a gem,cuts through that upstream gust easily by turning the bow downstream and rowing back-to -the -breeze.Splits any 1,2,3 class wave with it's transom beautifully and is very stable with it's 4',low rocker bottom.Easily handles a fisherman in the transom end by either removing half the deck or by moving the passenger seat to mid-ships and having the angler stand against the splashguard .I've taken it down Westwater on the Colorado(it's whitewater limit!),October flows on the Yellowstone from Gardiner, Mt.,the South Fork of the Snake in Idaho,the Mackenzie in Or.,the Big Hole and Missouri in Mt.and through the Snake River Canyon here in Jackson and have found it to be versatile,maneuverable,stable and easily trailered.I guess I lucked out building my "dream boat" on my first attempt with this one and I have to thank Brad Dimmock for writing such a great book ,"The Doing of the Thing" and adding that picture on page 61 to inspire me to build a boat style that ,no one else had and had largely had been forgotten.A picture of it is posted on my pic.s on this site.My 12 cents....

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