Some Advice Please.

Hello everybody. I am a new member & as yet not a wooden boat owner, this too shall change! As an avid fly fisherman, I have been searching for a small Pram that can be used for lake fishing here in  BC. Cost is a factor and therefore I plan to build myself. I am thinking that a simple "Stitch & Glue"  construction would be the way to go. I envision the following dimensions would fit the bill: LOA 8'. Beam 48"+ Weight - 55 -85lb. Easily rowed or used with small electric motor - oh yes, it has to be pure eye candy! (lol).

I have seen blogs and some reference to Prams  such as the Pass lake Pram that seems to have vanished - or a ref to "Port Ludlow Fly Fishing Club" having a design that was very popular - no reply from those folks?

I have seen some designs that have possibility but I  was wondering if any of the members would have recommendations / suggestions?

 

I appreciate any help that you can provide - Regards.

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Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on February 10, 2011 at 9:20am
http://www.woodenboatpeople.com/forum/topics/drift-pram

Above is the link to a thread on this forum about this same topic.  It came not long ago.  Prams are a great way to go and they can be pure eye candy indeed.  Enjoy.
Permalink Reply by Robb Grubb on February 10, 2011 at 4:24pm

- 8 Foot Pram

- Built on a Jig

- No Ribs / Frames

- It does have Inside Chines and minor Framing front and back

- Super light

- Fiberglass cloth / resin 3 inches up the sides and full bottom

- Notice the horizontal "chine" half way up the inside for strength and seat support

- Built with fir plywood, oak chines, screws and highly leaded paint in the 1970's

Permalink Reply by justin nicola on February 11, 2011 at 3:21pm
that thing is awesome.  when i was little my grandfather had one very similar (the good ship "waterbug") that we used all the time.  come to think of it, i bet it was slathered in highly leaded paint as well.
Permalink Reply by Duncan Howatson on February 11, 2011 at 3:43pm
Thanks to you all for the input everyone - just great. Robb, any Idea of the designer here? Do you know the beam dimensions? This looks like it would fit the bill!! Darn it, it's in better shape thaan I am! (lol).
Permalink Reply by Robb Grubb on February 20, 2011 at 9:44pm

Duncan,

My Grandfather built this boat as well as probably 20 plus more prams and driftboats over the years. Whenever he found a new fishing spot, be it a river, beaver pond or lake, he would seem to build a boat to fit that exact type of fishing and water. He was an engineer by trade, so he had the brains and know how to push one out the garage in a timely manner. Sorry, I do not have any dimensions or numbers for you.

 

He is fishing on the endless river now, however I saw a lot of his boats (and used them) and my Dad took a lot of photos over the years. I will dig more up as time goes by. Here are a few photos from the pot holes in Eastern Washington. His most favorite lakes to fish were the Kane Lakes up in British Colombia. I think he took the 6 or 8 footer up there because the 10 footer was too tall to tie to the back of his motorhome and the wind would catch the top of it at a rattling 55 mph (what's that in Canadian, eh?) up I-5.

Cheers, Robb

Permalink Reply by Duncan Howatson on February 21, 2011 at 8:19am

Cheers Rob. Wow! This looks like Rattle Snake country! Looks like Grandpa was a practicle fellow as well with the big 'C' clamps for handles. I also noticed the nifty set of wheels for portage... clever.

Just by these photos I can judge approximate dimensions..... May his lines alway be tight on demand !

Thank you for sharing

Oh - 55mph that's about 88 KM. When we converted, all of a sudden my car was way quicker Wahoo!

 

 

Permalink Reply by Brad Dimock on February 23, 2011 at 8:48pm
What a great picture. C-clamps for handles, suspenders, a Trapper Nelson on his back. Grandpa was for real.
Permalink Reply by Roger Fletcher on February 14, 2011 at 7:23am
Stay in touch with Dave Zielinski's project (http://thtchronicles.blogspot.com/). The boat dimensions are a little greater than you seek but this is going to be a sweet little one person pram -- highly functional "pure eye candy," I'm sure. Though this will be frame construction (4 frames), Sandy over at Montana Riverboats has written a brief piece describing how framed boats can be build stitch-and-glue. Check it out here: http://montana-riverboats.com/index.php?page=Driftboats/framed2sAnd... 
Permalink Reply by Duncan Howatson on February 14, 2011 at 8:31am

Thank you Roger, your right "sweet little boat" indeed. I'll follow both sites with interest.

Tight lines .....Duncan

Permalink Reply by Steve-O on March 29, 2011 at 8:10pm

Duncan:

 

As a new member myself I have been looking for the ideal plans for a beginner to make. I have bought a few plans and toyed with either a 10' or 8' pram.  the 10 footers are all around 100 lbs and may be a bit much for a 1 man. 

My final requirements were that it had to be light, under 60 lbs, would fit in the back of a mid size pick up, accomodate a 2nd passenger on occassion and be a stitch and glue construction.  I plan on uising an electric motor and oars. 

I just started building an 8 foot pram from 1/4' plywood that will meet all those requirements.  The plans I am using are from the 1940's and were developed by US Plywood as a means to sell their products.  It is a very workable design that can be built either by conventional or stitch and glue.  

 

 

Permalink Reply by Duncan Howatson on March 30, 2011 at 8:17am

Hi Steve-O. Your 'builld sounds very interesting indeed. Do you have pictures or a link for your pram? Your requirements sound just like mine, although I would add stabillity - I don't often stand however I would ensure that it would be as beamy as you can get. What's your beam at the chine /gunnel?

I have almost decided on the 8' Drift pram plans available by Glen boats It's a Hankinson design that seems to fit the bill apart from the weight --http://glen-l.com/designs/hankinson/driftpram.html

What do you think?

Permalink Reply by Steve-O on March 30, 2011 at 4:27pm

Hi Duncan,

I don't have a link for this yet but i will be taking some pictures and try to figure out how to blog as i build it.  a friend built this boat a few weeks ago out of some scrap marine ply with an emphasis on keeping it as light as possible and it came in around 44 lbs.   today he told me the bottom flexes too much and he will add some supports to stiffen it.  

the beam at the chine is 38.0" and at the gunnels it is approximately 50-52.0".  the plans call for 3 bench seats but i am modifying the center seat to accomodate a cooler to sit on and some tackle trays.  I estimate that it will weigh in at 55-60 lbs.

I like the Glen L design but one of the designs i really liked prior to deciding on this plan was from applegate boatworks.  they make a tree frog pram that has some absolutely great plans, looks good and is open to some modification.  they claim as built it weighs 66 lbs.

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