Thread: English Pram

No problem.

May not be able to do so this weekend, but will try.

Next week for sure.

Is lapstrake construction the same as clinker construction? If not, can you describe it.

YES

Stopper, haven't forgotten. I've been away over the long weekend - sailing on the beautiful Gippsland Lakes by Lakes Entrance. Must say - Riviera Nautic's Dufor 36' is a much more comfortable yacht than my little English Pram, especially with four people aboard.

I'll do my best to take a few photos this week. (I need to get help to extricate the pram from its current storage place.)

Sorry for the delay!

Dons, English Pram: photo 1

Dons, English Pram: photo 2

That looks very much like a club dinghy I knew when I was a kid, 100s of years ago.
At the time I was sailing in the Port Adelaide, SA area and one of the clubs down there had "Cadet" dinghys. Is that pram the same beast???

Can't answer your question.

The man who built this boat was a Englishman, Reginald Stacey, since passed away, and married to an Egyptian. (I only mention that because of the Lateen rig, which is Egyptian in origin.)

According to him it is a traditional "English Pram" who's design goes back to the end of the 1800's.

She sits very high in the water when empty and without crew. I used to tow it behind a 28 foot yacht as a tender.

I watched him build the boat in the back of a churchyard. He was a church custodian [ie janitor]. It took him about two weeks of part-time work - 4 hours per day. The Lapstrake design is hand riveted with brass rivets. Each Western Red Cedar plank running for and aft is hand cut to shape and size. The two transoms are of spruce (if I recall correctly). The spruce has suffered some rot due to storage under a plasticised tarpaulin which allowed some rain and sun to penetrate to the timber.

I haven't cleaned the boat up in any way, or tried to hide the work that needs doing. For the right enthusiast, this traditional design is very appealing. As a rowing vessel it easily accommodates two adults and in a pinch two small children. For sailing it is best suited to one person. When sailing her I tended to sit on the floor of the boat rather than the thwarts.

A good cleaning, some timber repair to the forward transom, and very minor repair to the port gunwale should see her back in good condition.

For interest, the boat was named "Edzuma". This is the English version of a rare West Coast Canadian First Nations tribe word for "my sweetheart". Edzuma is the only term of endearment in this dialect and can mean anything from my freind to my sexual partner.

My meaning tended to lean toward the former.

Mate,

Absolutely beautiful. My best mate is a fully qualified shipwright and if you are interested I will tap his mind to give you all the advice in the world to fix up that lovely little craft. I'm envious. I remember having one in Holland that we used to use as a tender for dad's sailing yacht that he ran with his brother. Many many years ago now.

If you are interested give me an email on [email protected].


Roly

what sort are you lookin for Stoppers?
I may be able to assist
Pete

heh heh know what u mean I have built a 16ft dory sail/row a 16ft ply canoe a 8ft lapstrake (ply) dinghy and a hartley 21 trailer sailer Ive run out of room in the yard
still like they say 'he who dies with the most boats wins'
Pete

Don't intend to do anything stupid with the boat. But I don't have any interest in repairing it. I've sort of got boating out of my system (except for the occasional weekend hire of a luxury yacht on the Gippsland Lake system).

So I don't plan to do the repair work myself. However, I know with time, the rot will likely continue. I now store it under my house where it is out of the sun and rain. But dampness will still work its miracle, and termites might do the rest.

If anyone is interested in the boat whilst repairing her is still very viable, now's the time to act. My next step will be to place her in the Trading Post (or whatever else makes sense to sell her quickly).