Portage Pram

[stromborg]

I tried to avoid the ties but got sloppy and paid the price on several.

[stromborg]

Fast forward a few weeks and we're in paint! Primer in this case. One really nice thing about a wee boat like this is how fast you can sand it and how little paint is needed. Later today I'll have the first topcoat on (Marshall's Cove "Yacht White" semi-gloss). It's a traditional enamel I've used on all my boats, flows out and wears well, hard not to like. Local company with limited availability, I'm guessing it is equivalent to Kirby's. No association with them, it is kind of like choosing System 3 or West for epoxy, sometimes you just keep running with what you know.

That little oil-filled radiant heater does a great job of safely warming up the hull to speed up the drying process, my shop runs in the 60-65f (15-18c) range this time of year, a little extra localized heat speeds things along.

[DBthal]

Steve,

Looks great! I’ll enjoy seeing it painted.

Dan

[stromborg]

Bottom done, waiting on the sheerstrake due to a lack of Forest green paint in the shop supply cabinet. The interior is Marshall's Cove "Schooner Spar Buff" which i use on Marianita's decks and like there. Not so sure about it here but the first coat of paint almost always looks dicey. Standing her up on end was the easiest way to get a visual on coverage for the undersides of the thwarts. See my thread on repairing UV damage on my Pygmy kayak, I wanted nothing exposed on this one.

Now that she is all sticky with paint the cloth I ordered for making a cover showed up. Timing is everything and not just in comedy...

[DBthal]

Steve,

Your pram build is coming along nicely.

I look forward to hearing how you like the boat after the first row.

Dan

[stromborg]

"Poppy" got launched last night. Good little boat, rows well and tracks a lot better than I expected. All around nicer than my similarly sized Feather Pram. Plus, I can heft the boat up onto one shoulder (it is right around 35 pounds) and walk it from the back of the Suburban the beach while also carrying the oars. The buttons are too small and need to shift up the looms, my thumbs collide mid-stroke. Next up is taking the mothership out with tender in tow.

[jpatrick]

Very sweet, Steve. She looks much better on the water than in the back of your Suburban, and she looked mighty good there!

Jeff

[johngsandusky]

Beautiful!

[The Jeff]

Looking good!

[DBthal]

Steve,

Your Portage Pram looks great! Glad that you like the way it rows.

I’ve used my Portage Pram on two cruises this year. It rows very well, but can be a bit squirrelly when my wife & I are climbing in/out from a boat.

I’m also trying to settle on gunnel protection.

1673EFF1-6F62-459A-8E82-02C30FD94924.jpg

I’ve strung some sailboat lifeline cushions along the sides.

Dan

[stromborg]

Poppy, alongside Marianita, they seem to get along well even if they both wore the same dress to the party.


Out for a first tow.

Notes from said tow:
Noisy: the slap-slap-slap of waves on the bottom got to be just a bit annoying...this from a lapstrake boat sailobr />
Drag: not much but definitely enough to have an effect on boat speed and

Tacking: Marianita needs all the help she can get in the kind of sloppy 1-2 foot chop we had most of the day and that drag coming from the aft end really messed with my success ratio yesterday.

Tracking: There may have been a lot of noise back there but she tracked right behind, I remember the Feather Pram I tried this with had a tendency to shuttle back and forth a lot but that boat has a very round bottom and when under oars you have to pay attention or she'll head off in random directions.

Once back at the dock I practiced getting from one boat to the other and went for a nice extended row as the sun set over Eagle Harbor. All told a pretty nice way to spend a summer afternoon. I did not opt for the sailing rig, I would have to practice a lot more yoga before I think my 6'-0" self would fold down into the boat to do that. I doubt Poppy will be coming along for the vast majority of my sailing adventures, but for the extended cruises I keep telling myself I'm going to do I think she'll be quite handy.

[Jack Loudon]

Beautiful job on the pram, and I hope she proves to be a useful companion around the harbor and behind your bigger boat.

[DBthal]

Two beautiful boats! I hope the Portage Pram serves you well.

Dan

[AJZimm]

Steve,
Thanks for bringing us along on the build and for the operational report following the launch.

[Liberty53]

Yahoo! Great work!

The two sweeties go together very well.

Derek

Scamp #169

[hawkeye54]

Steve, in post # 46, you mention the sound of the waves hitting under the bow transom when the pram is towed . Could the noise be mitigated / deadened if you were to stuff the forward flotation tank with some closed cell foam pieces ?


Rick

[Andrew Donald]

Very nice job Steve, could you use the mizzen from mothership in Poppy? Gotta be some sorta record - boat built and launched inside two thread pages!

[Rob Hazard]

That annoying slap-slap of the flat bottom may be part of the reason why Joel White designed the Nutshell pram's bow the way he did. Heavier for sure, but quieter in chop. There is no perfect boat; every boat is a compromise.

[Breakaway]

A longer tow rope will lessen what you hear of the noise.


Nice job!

[Andrew Donald]

A longer tow rope will lessen what you hear of the noise.


Nice job!

maybe, but I reckon it’ll just give the jet skiers a challenge

[stromborg]

If the tow gets long enough to appreciably reduce the noise I'd probably have to re-do the running lights. Just one of those things I'll get used to hearing, Marianita's laps are pretty good at letting me know they are there too. I don't think putting foam in the flotation tank would do much for the noise while towing and when I'm rowing it sits deep enough in the water that it isn't an issue.

The designed sailing rig for the pram is cool looking but I have opted to keep her as a straight up rowing tender. I think the mizzen, yards and sail from the mothership might double the total weight.

I left Poppy on the dock today but it would have been interesting to see how she handled. We had a 10 knot northerlies with an unimpeded fetch from Whidbey island to Bainbridge, steep 2' chop predominating with a chaotic undercurrent of ferry/cruise and containership wakes sloshing back and forth against the fairly steep shoreline. Not a place for motion sensitive people.

[Bflat]

What thickness plywood is called for on the portage pram?

[stromborg]

With the exception of a few reinforcing bits (transom tops and inwales) the hull is primarily 4mm okume plywood. It all feels a bit floppy until everything is finally glued in place then it stiffens right up. Some builders have added more layers, I haven't felt the need. Being able to chuck it in my Suburban and shoulder-carry it and the oars down the water has been handy, I'm glad I kept it light.

I'll be bringing Poppy along to the PTWBF this year, update on her utility to follow.

[Bflat]

Thanks Stromborg.

[ocsailer]

Beautifully built boats! I am new to this forum, and a new owner of a Duckworks pram. Unfortunately I too did not get a manual with my kit. Would anyone mind sharing the link to the manual please?

Cheers,
Robert

[stromborg]

Call or email Duckworks, they'll send you a link

[ocsailer]

Thanks, I have done so I was just hoping to squeeze in some work on it this weekend, but seeing as how they’re closed on the weekend, I’ll have to wait until next week.

- Robert

[2Meter_Builder]

Great thread and thanks to all of the posters who have completed one of these builds! I’m considering building this boat but it would be my first—can anyone share how many hours you figure you have into the project from start to finish?

[stromborg]

This boat building stuff is a hobby/stress reliever for me, I have long since given up tracking my hours. I work eight or nine 24 hour shifts a month, in between shifts I have big chunks of time off (48 and 96 hour blocks) and no kids at home so I have the luxury of lots of unimpeded time. This is boat #8 since starting off in the early days with Pygmy Kayaks (RIP) so I have my systems pretty well established. As they say "YMMV".

With the disclaimers out of the way:

This a very simple kit to build, they did a very good job in the design office putting it together. It should be feasible to spend a long weekend at it and end up with a boat-shaped object. After that come work cycles defined by cure times, how comfortable you are working with "green" epoxy, your skill in laying down clean fillets and your desired level of finish.

One thing not often talked about is that once the whole thing is put together you really ought to let it sit for at least week to get through the green stage and become inert (varies by brand) before entering the final sand part of the journey. Sand/fill, wait another week to sand again and hope you didn't miss to much to put that first coat of paint on. This is the vicious cycle part because every time you put some epoxy on the cure-clock starts over. Depending on your workspace temperature it could take two weeks for a final cure. Paint on uncured epoxy will stay sticky for a very long time.

[2Meter_Builder]

All makes sense, thanks for the input. I’ve been looking at this kit for long enough that experience tells me I’m destined to build it, it’s just a matter of when!

[Bruce Bateau]

I decided that I needed a more suitable dinghy than the old sit on top kayak for Luna, so when Duckworks recently had a sale, I jumped on it and bought a Portage Pram kit.

But when I opened the crate this morning, I discovered that they didn't send a manual!
(And yes, I contacted them...)

[stromborg]

When I asked they sent me link to an online manual.

ETA: Email sent. At the time Scott Jones was running the store and said he thought the manual was in the box.

[Bflat]

[Hi Stromborg, Will you please tell me what size your screw out deck plates on seats are? I'm nearing that decision point on my build. Thanks in advance.

Bob
QUOTE=stromborg;6688181]
Poppy, alongside Marianita, they seem to get along well even if they both wore the same dress to the party.


Out for a first tow.

Notes from said tow:
Noisy: the slap-slap-slap of waves on the bottom got to be just a bit annoying...this from a lapstrake boat sailobr />
Tracking: There may have been a lot of noise back there but she tracked right behind, I remember the Feather Pram I tried this with had a tendency to shuttle back and forth a lot but that boat has a very round bottom and when under oars you have to pay attention or she'll head off in random directions.

Once back at the dock I practiced getting from one boat to the other and went for a nice extended row as the sun set over Eagle Harbor. All told a pretty nice way to spend a summer afternoon. I did not opt for the sailing rig, I would have to practice a lot more yoga before I think my 6'-0" self would fold down into the boat to do that. I doubt Poppy will be coming along for the vast majority of my sailing adventures, but for the extended cruises I keep telling myself I'm going to do I think she'll be quite handy.[/QUOTE]

[stromborg]

Those are 6" deck plates. Big enough to shove lunch and/or some shoes through, I wouldn't go smaller.

[DBthal]

Give some thought about how you are going to use the storage. I placed the deck plates off to the sides so they wouldn’t be under a passenger on the stern seat.
A6BBDB4E-9D02-4DA6-80A0-6CDDAB85D54A.jpg

I like the suggestion to use 6” deck plates to allow storage of lunch & dry shoes.

Dan