John Gardner's "Pram of Surprising Ability"

[DGentry]

I built one, recently. Some pics:
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Clearly, I modified it to my taste, but it fully retains Mr. Gardner's lines. I am not sold on the ultimate looks of the boat - to me it lacks a jaunty sheer, and the shovel nose is unattractive to my eye. However, the boat does row, tow and motor, err . . . surprisingly well, even if the bow is pushing a curl of water at times.
Modifications I made - S&G construction, with 6 oz fiberglass inside and out (on the bottom). No floorboards. Added sealed flotation boxes fore and aft, carrying handles, motor cutout and nesting capability.

Yes, it's a nesting dinghy, which certainly was not what the designer intended. However, I wanted a dinghy that would fit on my foredeck, and this one now will, quite nicely. I moved the center thwart forward a few inches, built dual bulkheads there, and cut the boat in two. It bolts together with 4 large SS bolts and wing nuts. No leaks!

Dave Gentry (currently anchored in Ganges Harbor, BC)

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

Prams have a solid character... in Garveys, John boats and the like. They can carry a lot of weight, and as you say, stow easily...Nice job by the way. Nothing wrong with the look of that little boat.

[Pernicious Atavist]

In the top pic the chines seem to be out of the water; is that so?

[Thad]

PA, with no one aboard. I built one many years ago and still think it's the best of the plywood prams. Good going!

[Hwyl]

One of the nicest and most practical boats I've seen. You should submit an article to our hosts. Great boat.

[DGentry]

Thanks all! I'm pretty pleased with it, and often row it a mile or two a day (when the weather is nice!).
It's definitely more distinctive than the ubiquitous RIBs that most people are towing, and much prettier than the fiberglass tub-like dinghy we were using. Still, I'm planning the next one to build . . . .

Dave Gentry

[Hwyl]

Is the design in one of Gardner's books?

[Thad]

In volume 2 of Building Classic Small Craft, I believe.

[Steve Lansdowne]

What are the white half circles I see against (?) the transom?

[Lewisboats]

Transom doubled for stiffness...artfully done?

[Paul Pless]

Nice job there.

Got any pictures of it unbolted and stowed?

[Steve Paskey]

In volume 2 of Building Classic Small Craft, I believe.

Very nice, Dave.

There are two versions, one each in volumes 1 and 2 of Building Classic Small Craft. The original was 9'5" long and appears in vol. 1. The smaller version, an 8' "pram of surprising ability," is in vol. 2. When asked to design an 8-footer, Gardner noted that sections 3 and 4 of the larger boat were nearly identical, so he cut out the 18" between them, reduced the beam from 54 inches to 51, and refaired the results.

[DGentry]

The boat is the 8' version, plans for which I found in the 2003 compilation book "Building Classic Small Craft - Complete Plans and Instructions for 47 Boats."

http://www.amazon.com/Building-Class...7X/ref=ed_oe_p

It's in the section from "More Building Classic Small Craft," which is another of Gardner's books.

The white half-circles on the transom do indeed delineate where I have doubled the transom, for extra rigidity. Thanks for the "artfully done" comment!

I have no pics of it nested, though I'll endeavor to take, and post, some if it stops raining anytime soon . . . .

Thanks for all the kind words!

Dave Gentry

[Bruce Keefauver]

Thanks for sharing, she looks real nice. How much does she weigh?

[DGentry]

Thanks, Bruce. She weighs between 80-100lbs, by my best guess. Each section weighs about half than, though, so it's very easy to carry when taken apart.
Making it easier to move when assembled, I put HDPE runners on the bottom, instead of wooden ones, and I can drag the whole boat on a dock on them all day long.

Still raining, no new pics . . . .

Dave

[James McMullen]

Nice, Dave! I need to build a new pram for myself this winter, as someone offerred me too much money for the old lapstrake one for me to resist. I think I may have to try out the nesting idea as I'd like a little bigger boat than will comfortably store in my cockpit while at the marina.

So when are you gonna sail through Anacortes next, amigo?

[Horace]

Very nice, indeed.
Can the halves be assembled in the water with someone occupying one side? That would facilitate launching off a small
boat, and make it an almost irresistible autumn project.

[DGentry]

Thanks again, everyone.
James, not sure about the ETA to Anacortes. Nicely, though, it has quit raining, for now, but there are still gale force winds, so we won't be leaving this harbor (Ganges Harbor, Saltspring Island, BC) for another day or so. Thank goodness there's a pub at the end of the dock!

Taking advantage of the sun, I thought I'd take some pics of Baby Ruth (our bigger boat is named Ruth. . .) disassembled and nested. Please ignore any scratches in the paint, sea spooge and/or seagull droppings that may be evident - thanks!

I daresay this boat could be assemble on the water. Very, very calm water. I'm interested in trying it, but not till it warms up. I do think both halves will float a person, though the front section might be a bit wobbly!

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Bored? You could check out the pics and my scintillating writing on our little cruising blog: www.running-with-ruth.blogspot.com

[Horace]

Yep, calm would be the operative word. Thanks for the photo.

[Paul Pless]

Dave, thanks for the update pictures. That's a nicely done pram, I like it a lot.

[htom]

For all of those folk who come here asking for tiny prams because they don't have room, Dave, you've shown a beautiful solution.

[Hwyl]

Bump for Duncan

[wizbang 13]

I do not like a nesting dingy. So there.