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• Sailboat Reviews

Practical Sailor Reviews Seven Performance-Sailing Dinghies

Agile, fun boats like the classic sunfish and new hobie bravo keep the smile in summer sailing..

Photos by Ralph Naranjo

Messing around in small boats is a global theme-one thats embraced by pond-bound pram sailors, river riders, lake voyagers, and all of us who call salt water home. The purpose of this sailing dinghy profile is to highlight seven very interesting little sailboats. Some are new designs, and others have stood the test of time, but all are currently being manufactured, and each drives home just how much fun sailing close to the water can be.

This isn’t a shootout among anorexic speedsters or a report on the best tender that doubles as a sailing dinghy. Its a look at perennials like the Optimist, Sunfish, and Laser-legendary competitors that have helped spawn some of the best sailors in the world. But its also a look at three of the newest entries in the dinghy-sailing circle: Bics Open, Hobies Bravo, and Laser Performances Bug. These agile, new sailing dinghies are chock full of fun and boat-handling features to inspire kids of all ages to go sailing.

Well also take a look at Chesapeake Light Crafts kit approach to getting started-one that offers meaningful lessons and tangible rewards well before the boat ever hits the water.

Scale down an Open 60, add sail technology long favored by windsurfers, and put it into play in a tough thermo-formed hull, and you have the makings for a new kind of watercraft. The result is a very interesting blend of performance and reliability that targets adolescent interest. When all is said and done, Bics boat is more akin to a sit-down windsurfer than a traditional Blue Jay. And like all good boats, its vying for attention not just based on performance, construction quality, and style, but just as importantly, on the price tag stuck to the hull.

The Open Bics light weight and wide, flat stern section means that even small chop can be surfed; and bursts of planing on a reach add a zing factor to dinghy sailing. The Open Bic is already an International Sailing Federation (ISAF)-sanctioned class, and fleets are developing around the US. Another bonus: Its an easily portable boat that can be carried like a windsurfer, adding excitement to a Sunday picnic at the beach.

The thermo-formed polyethylene hull is a modified hard-chine design with lots of beam aft. Sailed flat, the boat is agile enough to surf wavelets, and with a shape thats ergonomically friendly to hiking, the ensuing heel on the upwind leg puts just the right amount of chine into the water. In light air, careful control of heel can significantly reduce wetted surface.

The design team that developed the Open Bic saw it as a transition bridge from Optimist sailing to a more performance-oriented dinghy. An interesting innovation is that the Open Bic can be sailed with an Optimists rig and blades. This buy the hull only approach can be a significant incentive for parents with children outgrowing their Opti as fast as their boat shoes. However it wont be long before the kids want the fully turbo-charged feel delivered with the Open Bics well-shaped 4.5-square-meters rig, sail, and nicely foiled blades.

Bottom line: The Open Bic is fast, agile, and buckets of fun for kids uninspired by sailing in the slow lane.

Just when you think that Hobie Cat Co. has covered whats possible in beach-cat innovation, their design/engineering crew comes up with a new twist that reinvents the wheel. The Hobie Bravo is a good case in point.

In a recent visit to Backyard Boats ( www.backyardboats.com ) in Annapolis, Md., we got a good look at the Bravo. Nearly as narrow as a monohull but still quite stable, this quick-to-launch beach cat packs plenty of get-up-and-go. Its a simple to sail, entry-level boat that fast tracks learning the steer, sheet, and hike trilogy. The boat features a single, midline rudder and roto-molded hulls. The shape of the hulls provides enough lateral plane to allow a crew to make headway to windward.

The narrow (4 feet), 12-foot Bravo uses crew weight and hiking straps to add to the righting moment once the breeze is up. Whats done with webbing on larger cats has been converted to a shallow, rigid deck well on the Bravo. It does raise the weight of the boat to 195 pounds, but it offers comfortable seating plus room for cushions and a cooler. Kids or grown ups can have a Tom Sawyer-Huck Finn type of adventure aboard this fun little sailing machine. Or the family on a beach picnic can set it up and take turns speed reaching along a sandy shoreline.

The furling mast supports a roachy sail with slightly slanted vertical battens, helping to shape the boomless mainsail. The result is convenient sail handling, decent performance, and superior safety. Theres no boom to clobber the crew, and the roller-furled sail and mast are easily stepped in the tripod-like receiver. This interesting set of struts raises the top bearing point of the mast step and spreads rig loads out to the hulls. The furling mainsail offers the ability to reef, a big plus in a building breeze or when teaching children to sail.

Like all of the boats in the Hobie lineup, theres a wide range of specialty parts and fittings that make the boats fast to rig and easy to handle. The kick-up rudder is hung on gudgeons mounted in the center of stern, and just as rig loads have been effectively spread via the tripod step, the energy radiating from the large rudder is spread athwartships via a contoured deck element.

Bottom line: The boat is quick to rig, easy to launch, and responsive to beginners-more experienced sailors will have just as much fun power reaching when the breeze is up.

A pocket-sized club trainer, the Bug is an evolution of the kids trainer/club racer that leverages lessons learned in Optis, Dyers, and Sabots. It pulls together the logic of a stable hull shape and simple-to-sail rig, and puts it all in a cost-effective package.

Lending to its success is designer Jo Richardss ergonomic, roto-molded hull, a fabrication that is as close to zero maintenance as a boat can get. The straight out-of-the-mold polyethylene skin gets a few decals, and theres no wood to refinish or gelcoat to wax. These tough, abrasion-resistant hulls have a bumper boat tolerance thats a big plus when it comes to kids learning to sail. Best of all, owners can start with a learn-to-sail rig and upgrade to a more performance-oriented mast and sail package (41 or 56 square feet) that kicks performance into the fast lane.

Oars and an outboard motor bracket can be added to turn the little sailboat into a dual-purpose dinghy. Even the bow painters means of attachment makes sense-no projecting hardware ready to knick the topsides of unintended contacts. Instead, theres a recessed hole in the stem allowing a line to be lead through and a knot used to keep the painter in place.

Bottom line: Aimed at club programs and families look for boats that can be transported on the car top, the Bug is easy to rig and definitely kid friendly. The fact that its manufacturer, Laser Performance, is an international interest and a major player in the performance dinghy industry means that this boat and its parts will be around for a while.

Photo courtesy of Hobie Cat Co.

Eastport Pram

Chesapeake Light Craft expedites boatbuilding for do-it-yourselfers looking to take their garage-built boats for a sail. The company pre-cuts parts, packs kits with all the materials, epoxy, and paint youll need, and leads homebuilders through a thoroughly detailed stitch-and-glue approach to assembly. Kits are available in various stages of completeness, ranging from plans only to the full package, including sail, hardware, running rigging, and paint.

The Eastport Pram is just shy of 8 feet, and the marine plywood and epoxy construction delivers a boat that weighs in, sans sailing rig, at just 62 pounds. Lighter than the comparatively sized Bug, this stiff, durable dinghy, rows like a real boat and sails comfortably with one or two aboard. In keeping with other good tender attributes, the Pram behaves under tow and is equally amicable when propelled by a small outboard or tacked up an estuary under sail.

Kit boatbuilding continues to have a niche following. Theres also an added-value feature worth noting: On one hand, the builder receives a box of pieces and the result of his or her endeavor leads to an aesthetic and utilitarian dinghy. In addition, the DIY skills the builder develops will be useful in other epoxy bonding, brightwork, or mono-urethane application projects. Such talents will benefit many other boat maintenance endeavors.

Whats hard to quantify is the sense of accomplishment derived from sailing a boat that you have built yourself. When the project is tackled in tandem with a child, spouse, or friend, the memories and the boat will last.

Bottom line: With neither sidedecks or a sealed hull, this is not a boat thats easy to recover from a capsize. So once the kids favor on-the-edge sailing in a building breeze, a non swamping, easier-righting boat is probably a better option. The Pram can then be put to use by their appreciative parents or grandparents.

Never in their wildest dreams did Bruce Kirby and Ian Bruce imagine that the Weekender (the Lasers original name) was destined to become an Olympic class sailboat and one of the most popular springboards for top-tier sailors in the world today. Originally envisioned as a car-topper for weekend campers, the cat-rigged, low freeboard sailing dinghy morphed from its original roots into a boat favored by college competitors and revered by generations of agile sailors of all ages. Even frostbiting winter sailors have locked onto the Laser.

Designed in 1969, the Lasers first few years were anything but smooth sailing. Popularity grew quickly, but along with the limelight came plenty of consternation. Dubbed a surfboard not a sailboat by a growing cross-section of the yachting elite-many parents warned junior sailors to steer as clear of Lasers as they did sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. The campaign failed, and junior sailors in yacht club programs around the country fell into the grip of the new one-design dinghy-discovering the sailboats proclivity to plane.

Dyer Dhows languished in boat sheds across the country as a new theme in sailing took hold. Dubbed fast is fun by sailor/engineer Bill Lee, the young Merlin of Santa Cruz, Calif., took the theme to big-boat sailing, merging California culture with the Laser logic of light displacement and planing hull shapes.

Best of all, the Laser embraced the ideal of a tightly controlled one-design class that put people on the water in identical boats and left winning and losing races up to sailing skill and tactics rather than a boats performance edge. For decades, the boat has been the single-handed sailors choice among junior sailing programs, and with the addition of the Radial, 4.7 and M rigs, smaller competitors have also found the boat to be a great sailing platform. Today, theres some lawyer saber-rattling over the sale of the design rights, but the boat remains more popular than ever.

The sleeved sail, two-part spar, daggerboard, and kick-up rudder make the boat a quick-to-rig and fast-to-get underway dinghy. Light-air efficiency is good for a one-design sailboat, but this means that as the breeze builds, the non-reefable sail can become a handful in a hurry. In fact, the boats Dr. Jekyll-and-Mr. Hyde demeanor is what builds talent among Laser practitioners. The big boys block the mainsail and blast off for the layline, while lighter sailors heavy-weather tactics include more nuanced de-powering and feathering. In light air, the tables turn, and the winner is often the sailor who planes quickest on the reaches. The old guards surfboard slam may have held some credence after all.

Bottom line: The Laser is a timeless classic thats easily transported and is built for performance. Its well suited to adrenaline-seeking teens as well as the more fit adult crowd.

Designed in 1947 by Floridian Clark Mills, the utilitarian Optimist could be made out of two sheets of plywood-and from its inception, the Optimist was meant to link kids with the water. Slipping into obscurity in the U.S., the little pram found fertile ground to grow in northern Europe. With just a few tweaks, the Scandinavians took Millss lines and parlayed them into whats become the favored junior sailing trainer for kids from Detroit to Timbuktu. Statistics show that there are about 30 builders worldwide putting out approximately 4,000 boats each year. With about 130,000 boats class registered and an estimated 300,000 total hulls built (amateur and pro), theres plenty of reasons to get excited about an Opti.

The example weve chosen is the USA-built McLaughlin boat, both a demonstration of high-quality FRP construction and modern manufacturing techniques. Its also a boat that can be purchased in a range of performance-inducing iterations-upgrades designated as club, intermediate, advanced, and professional versions. Like all performance sailboats, stiffness and strength-to-weight ratio is important. But class rules include a minimum weight, so the most competitive hulls meet the mandatory lower limit but use good engineering and building technique to reinforce the daggerboard slot and mast step and produce overall stiffness.

The low mast height and high aspect ratio sprit sail is very versatile, affording young (and small, 65 to 130 pounds) sailors a wide window of decent performance. The flat bottom, slab-sided hull is responsive to crew weight-driven trim changes, and the better the sailor, the more agile they become. Light-air performance is all about minimizing wetted surface and maximizing sail area projection. When the breeze starts to kick up, the sailor becomes the ballast, and the art of hiking, sheet handling, and tiller wiggling come into play.

Under careful adult supervision, two 6- to 8-year-olds can double-hand the friendly little dinghy, or one more-confident child can solo sail it. In fact, introducing kids to sailing with similar proportioned small prams has been a right of passage around for decades. A set of oarlock gudgeons can turn the pram into a functional dinghy thats also adaptable to the smaller Torqeedo outboard (www.torqeedo.com).

McLaughlin also markets a Roto-molded polyethylene version of the Opti and sells DIY kits for those who want to create their own wood version.

Bottom line: The Opti is like a first bicycle without the need for training wheels. The fact that at the last Olympics, over 80 percent of the winning sailors had gotten their start in an Optimist speaks well to the value of messing around in this particular dinghy.

Designed in 1951 by ice boaters Alexander Bryan and Cortland Heyniger, the hard chine Sunfish was the prototype board boat. In 1959, it made the transition into fiberglass, and over the following half-century, more than a quarter-million hulls would hit the water. Simplicity and decent sailing attributes combined with an attractive price to make the Sunfish the most popular one-design dinghy ever raced.

Far more than a platform for racers, these boats are an excellent training tool for sailors of all ages. Also built by Laser Performance, they reflect the fun of summer and put sailors in close contact with the water on which they sail. Its no surprise that the larger fleets coincide with warm water and many see going for a swim to be part and parcel of the low-freeboard experience.

The lateen rig is in keeping with the overall design concept and simplifies rigging. A short stub of a mast is stepped and a single halyard hoists the sail along with tilting V-shaped upper and lower booms.

The total sail area is nearly the same as the Laser, but the halyard hoist versatility of the lateen rig make it a handy beach boat and a little less daunting when the wind begins to build. The clean sail shape on one tack and deformation caused by the mast on the other tack are a slight drawback. The Laser rig is more efficient, but when caught out in a squall, its nice to be able to ease the halyard and dump the sail. Its also handy to be able to leave the boat tethered to a mooring, and the doused sail and short mast make it possible.

Multiple generations of sailors are often found sailing Sunfish, and the boat represents one of the best bargains to be found in the used boat market. When considering a pre owned boat, the potential buyer needs to take a close look at the daggerboard-to-hull junction and mast step, points where previous damage can create hard-to-fix leaks.

Bottom line: The Sunfish is a great beach boat that can turn a hot afternoon into a fun-filled water experience.

There were no losers in this group, and picking winners and runners-up proved a difficult task. The outcome had to be based on assumptions about how these boats would be used. For example, parents with a competitive 9-year-old who swims like a fish, always sprints for the head of the lunch line, and likes to steal bases in Little League probably have an Opti racer in the making. Less competitive junior sailors-future cruisers in the making-will do better learning aboard a Bug. Many newly formed sailing clubs target the boat as their trainer of choice.

The Bravo holds plenty of appeal for those with a lakeside cottage or a favored campground destination. Whether its a solo sail just before sunset or a fun race on Sunday, the quick to set up and put away features are a plus, and for those who feel that two hulls are better-the Bravo will hold plenty of appeal.

Serious competitors can campaign a Laser for life, and whether youre headed for a local district regatta or getting ready for the Olympic trials, the hull, rig, and sail remains identical-sort of like the Monaco Grand Prix being raced in a street legal Mustang.

Bic Opens new little speedster tickled our fancy, and as a trainer/performance boat crossover, it drew a strong nod of approval. Watching the junior sailors smiles as they sailed their Open Bics endorsed our opinion.

And if there is any boat that defines the essence of summer, the Sunfish takes the prize.

• The Art of Building with Thermal-setting Plastics

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• McLaughlin Boat Works

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• Eastport Pram

Eastport Pram by Chesapeake Light Craft

Ultra-light sailing dinghy.

URL: http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/boat-plans/sailboat-plans/eastport-pram-rowing-sailing-kit.html

Description:

The Eastport Pram , with more than 800 built, is one of the most popular small dinghies in the world. Classic good looks, stand-out performance, and ease of construction are hallmarks of this John C. Harris design.

Now in production for ten years, the design was updated in 2010. Now all Eastport Pram kits have the stitching holes for the temporary copper stitches drilled in all of the hull parts by our computerized machinery. Bulkhead locations are indicated by drill holes and machined "mortises" so there's no need for measuring, and the parts fit exactly every time.

Also new for 2010 is an updated sailing rig. While the old rig is powerful and weatherly, the new rig is taller, bigger, and sports battens for a sleeker look and even more power on all points of sail. All this, and the Mark II mast is actually a foot shorter! The new rig may be retrofitted to older Eastport Prams . It’s simple to add the rig later if you just want a rowing boat to start with. In fact, the standard kit includes the daggerboard trunk, to make the conversion quick and easy months or years later!

We gave the Eastport Pram deep rocker for low wetted surface and to keep the transoms from dragging. The result is a boat that is as easy and satisfying to row as you can expect on such a short waterline. Used as a tender to a larger boat, or kept at a dock, it's possible to undertake a long afternoon row around the local waters without breaking a sweat.

The Eastport Pram ’s many joys are multiplied when you add the sailing rig. Not a clumsy add-on, the large standing-lug sail and efficient rudder and daggerboard convert the pram into a proper sailboat with enough real performance, upwind and down, to keep the most seasoned sailors interested. The 48-inch beam means that the likelihood of capsize is remote as long as the sheet is never tied down. This is the perfect craft in which to learn to sail, whether the crew is age 8 or 80.

Small tenders should be able to withstand heavy handling alongside the mothership or in the dinghy park. Planking is 6mm okoume throughout, with three 9mm frames and seats. There’s a big, deep skeg for tracking under tow. In addition to multiple layers of fiberglass on the bottom panel, there are two cypress rubbing strips on the bottom to take the abrasion of dragging on a beach. For added safety, permanent flotation tanks are built in beneath the seats.

For all its virtues, perhaps the neatest thing about the Eastport Pram is the ease of construction using CLC's patented LapStitch process. Not only does the hull go together in a single weekend, but everyone agrees that the lapstrake Eastport Pram is one of the most beautiful dinghies they've ever seen. It will take the patient novice only 40-50 hours to assemble the hull, with a little more part time work for finishing. It is our easiest kit and perfect for families.

"Rowing from the center seat with the spoon-bladed oars moves the boat with a minimum effort, and it sails in just a ghost of a breeze. It punches through chop and boat wakes more easily than might be expected from such a light boat ..." Good Old Boat Magazine, March 2001

Boats about same size as Eastport Pram

Questions? Suggestions? Contact us at: [email protected]

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Happy birthday, Mirror dinghy

• Elaine Bunting
• March 26, 2013

The little pram dinghy that gave so many of us a lifelong love of sailing is 50 years old

Mine was number 33,524, painted blue when we bought her and called Domino. Like so many people, my father bought a Mirror dinghy to teach himself – and me – to sail. I started as his race crew, aged about 7 or 8, and that little dinghy and the love of sailing and boats it ignited was to influence the course of my whole life.

The same thing could be said, I am sure, for tens of thousands of Mirror sailors. Few boats have had such a wide-ranging and democratic effect as the Jack Holt/Barry Bucknell creation, which celebrates its 50th birthday this year. Happy, happy birthday dear old Mirror.

The little 11ft pram dinghy was launched at the London Boat Show in 1963 for the princely sum of £63. Its unique attraction was that it was relatively inexpensive to buy and could easily be built from a plywood kit using the simple ‘stitch and glue’ method.

The Mirror was developed with some input from Bernard Hayman, then Editor of Yachting World. He took the prototype out with the features editor (and also budding designer) David Thomas for its first public outing. They went out into the Medway on a breezy day. Hayman sailed it for a while then it was David’s turn. “The mast step was a wooden chock with a hole right through. The mast was sitting on the stitch and glue keel joint, which was weeping,” he remembers.

“‘Hold on Bernard,’ I muttered and gave the mainsheet a good heave. The joint let go. “We’re sinking,” said Bernard. “We must take this round to Jack Holt and let him sort it out.”‘ He did. The Mirror dinghy phenomenon was born.

The Mirror was my first command. It was a very suitable one for a child, being very buoyant and under-canvassed. My Dad moved on to racing bigger boats when I was about 10 and left me to get on with racing the Mirror, which I did precociously and zealously every weekend and twice a week after school. If I look back now, I’m sure that being allowed complete control of my own boat at this age taught lifelong lessons in independence and cultivated a great sense of adventure.

In the summer, Domino was put on a road trailer and came on holiday where it magically turned into an expeditionary voyager. No cruise since has ever seemed more epic than the trip across Sheephaven Bay to the village of Dunfanaghy for an HB ice cream, or from Killowen across to Carlingford.

On Carlingford Lough the kid crews were occasionally stopped on our cross-border expeditions by an army patrol (the Army operated a ship in the lough back then) and the soldiers seemed incredulous that people would allow us to roam around without any obvious adult supervision. I’m sure our parents were keeping an eye out from somewhere.

Eventually, the excitement of the Laser lured me, and many other teenagers, away from the Mirror and it was sold. I don’t even remember when that was. I must never have given my first love even a backward glance over the shoulder.

But the thrill of the Laser didn’t match its promise. There was no Radial racing, and if it blew hard I was too light to be competitive. And I missed the fun and companionableness of having a crew. Solo racing felt lonely, serious.

After that it was all about successively larger club racers and then, later, cruising and exploration. But if I’m really honest I’d say that very few experiences have ever matched the excitement of racing the Mirror as a child. The sounds and smells of the dinghy park still thrill me: the tinny percussion of halyards frapping on dinghy masts instantly produces a emotional surge of trepidation and exhilaration. Just as evocative is the warm, resinous smell of varnished plywood in the sun.

We’ve all moved on, and it was quite a shock to find out recently that the Mirror dinghy has pimped itself for the 21st Century and got on with courting new and younger admirers. I was genuinely taken aback to discover that the Mirror is no longer gunter rigged. Hey, that business of lacing on the mainsail and feeding the bolt rope into the gaff was a ritual!

The main now has a central sheet purchase. Well, excuse me, that hole in the transom was made specially for the bitter end of the mainsheet.

Since it was first launched, over 70,000 Mirror dinghies have been built. They still race all over the world, and I’m sure give parents and children as much pleasure to sail and race as they did 50 years ago. You can pick one up for £300-400, or pay ten times that or more for a race-ready one. Either way, they are fantastic value for the sport you get, and a wonderful way to share with children – and then to hand over, please – the glory of sailing and the thrill of competitiveness.

Read more about the history of the Mirror dinghy in the April issue of Yachting World, out in a few weeks’ time.

But what about you? Have you got a special Mirror dinghy memory?

BoatNews.com

PRAM: An elegant dinghy made of plywood and flax fibres

The young architects Alan Le Calvez and Youri Guedj from BOW and the marine carpenter Nicolas Arnould have joined forces to propose a solo dinghy that is both aesthetic and durable. More details on this boat which has already sailed for the first time on the Seine.

PRAM : a dinghy inspired by the historical yachting of Ile de France

With PRAM, the BOW (Be On Water) Naval Architecture firm signs its first sailboat . Officially launched in December 2020, the design office brings together Alan Le Cavez, formerly with BeFoil , and Youri Guedj, an independent naval architect for several years. He was contacted by the Guinguette Pirate , an association that campaigns for the reappropriation of the banks of the Seine by Parisians and the Ile-de-France, in a more popular way than big restaurants and theaters. For its first major action, a large nautical festival held despite health restrictions in September 2020, the Guinguette Pirate wanted to sail original boats in Paris, inspired by the yachting that made the reputation of the Seine in the twentieth century (Moth, Monotype de Chatou, Sharpy ...). The company commissioned Youri Guedj to design a custom dinghy . "The first boat was built by a work camp with the Salvation Army. The plywood allowed us to have something not too complicated. Due to lack of time, the second boat was built by the marine carpenter Nicolas Arnould in Saint-Philibert" explains Alan Le Calvez.

A small ecological sailboat for raids and solo sailing

In response to the program, BOW proposed a dinghy of 3.35 meters long and 1.50 meters wide. Equipped with a daggerboard and a non-tilting rudder, its draft is 85 cm on the daggerboard and 10 cm on the vertical daggerboard. Built in plywood , it benefits from epoxy joints and an outer skin made of flax fibers to protect the bottom of the hull. Why go looking for non-natural fibers, when we work with wood" summarizes Alan Le Calvez. The announced weight is 75 kg.

In terms of ergonomics, the wide, flat-bottomed cockpit allows two adults to lie down for a nap. "It's not made for long raids either," moderates the naval architect.

A boat available in kit form or ready to sail

To be able to offer the PRAM ready to sail , BOW has partnered with the marine carpenter Nicolas Arnould. The amateurs can also build themselves the dinghy whose dimensions fit easily in a garage by buying the construction kit. A double-handed dinghy is currently being studied.

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Eastport Pram

Eastport Pram kit £1360

Broken inwales option £360

Plans and manual £98

Study manual £25

PDF study manual £18

PDF study plans £3

Wood only £948

Sailing Options

Sailing upgrade with white sail £1385

Sailing upgrade with cream sail £1470

Sailing upgrade with tan sail £1515

Sailing upgrade with white sail and reef point £1480

Sailing upgrade with cream sail and reef point £1565

Sailing upgrade with tan sail and reef point £1610

Rope package £47

Eco epoxy upgrade +£15

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Product Description

The Eastport Pram, with more than 800 built, is one of the most popular small dinghies.

The design and the kit you produce is really first-class.

The Eastport Pram is pretty, light, tough, roomy, and easy to build. It is just 7′ 9″ long and 48″ wide, but will hold about 375 pounds. She's built from 6 mm okoume using the LapStitch method so that it resembles clinker. The finished boat looks like it was built by a seasoned craftsman, but it will take a novice only about 50 hours to assemble the Pram.

This boat is for people who want a light boat to take to different waters and to mess about in when on holiday. The Eastport Pram is so light it is very easily put on a roof rack. It is small enough to be carried whilst towing a caravan. Many people use inflatable boats to ferry goods and crew between the shore and their main boats. The problem with inflatable boats is that they are hard to row so inevitably noisy outboard motors are needed. The Eastport Pram is designed to overcome the problems and be light and easy to row.

Small tenders should be able to withstand heavy handling alongside the mothership or in the dinghy park. Planking is 6 mm okoume throughout, with three 9 mm frames and seats. There's a big, deep skeg for tracking under tow. In addition to fibreglass reinforcement on the bottom panel, there are two rubbing strips on the bottom to take the abrasion of dragging on a beach. For added safety, permanent flotation tanks are built in beneath the seats.

The Eastport Pram has a deep rocker for low wetted surface and to keep the transoms from dragging. The result is a boat that is as easy and satisfying to row as you can expect on such a short waterline. Used as a tender to a larger boat, or kept at a dock, it's possible to undertake a long afternoon row around the local waters without breaking a sweat.

The Eastport Pram is built using CLC's patented LapStitch™ joints which means that the result is a remarkably stiff and strong hull that has the appearance of traditional lapstrake or clinker planking.

This is Mark II of the Eastport Pram: the panels on this kit are pre-drilled and the bulkhead positions are pre-marked so that it is possible build the boat without having to measure for locations.

This pram would also make a great first boat-building project, a wonderful fishing boat for a small lake, or a child's first boat.

There is also a Nesting Eastport Pram , which is split into two sections so that the forward section can nest completely in the aft section for compact storage.

We recommend 6ft 6in oars for this boat.

Few have visited without taking her out for a spin and learnt – or relearnt – the pleasure of messing around in small boats. And one of the nicest features is the smile she puts on people's faces when they're not even sailing her. We often feel like minor celebrities when sailing her with people taking photos or calling out ‘nice boat!’.

Mungo and Rosie

The kit includes:

• Pre-cut wooden panels with pre-cut joints, pre-drilled tie holes and panel location marks
• Epoxy resin and activator
• Epoxy fillers
• Copper ties
• Woven glass fabric
• Woven glass tape
• Hatch, seals and screws
• Pair of silicon bronze rowlocks and sockets
• Comprehensive building manual
• Free technical support from a competent builder

The daggerboard slot is pre-cut in the central seat and the mast partner hole is pre-cut in the forward seat for upgrading to sailing at a later date. If you don't intend to sail the boat, we can also provide these parts without the holes cut, on request.

What else do I need?

Broken inwales option

Broken inwales add elegance to any boat by mimicking the ends of the ribs in traditional frame-built boats. This option includes everything you need to install broken inwales in the Eastport Pram:

• Pre-cut quarter-knees
• Rowlock riser blocks
• Spacer block material

Some trimming and fitting will be necessary. Broken inwales take longer to install because each block has to be carefully positioned and glued in place. Sanding and varnishing are also made more complex. We recommend reading the installation instructions before deciding to install broken inwales.

Plans and manual

The manual is the one that accompanies the kits. It describes all of the techniques that will be used during the building and also a step by step guide to construction. Scale drawings are used throughout as well as photographs of critical jobs.

The plans for the Eastport Pram contain full-size drawings for every part. Using the plans of the panels with the cutting instructions it is possible to build the boat from scratch.

Study manual

This is intended for pre-build study or to help with the decision to purchase. Reading this manual will help you decide whether or not you can build the boat. It is the manual that accompanies the kits. It describes all of the techniques that will be used during the building and also a step by step guide to construction. Scale drawings are used throughout as well as photographs of critical jobs.

If, later, you decide to purchase the kit the cost of this printed manual will be deducted from the kit price.

This does not contain the plans of the panels with the cutting instructions so it is not possible to build the boat from scratch using only this.

PDF study manual

The construction manual for the boat is also available as a PDF download. After credit card authorisation a download link will be sent to the email address put on the order form.

PDF study plans

These study plans are intended to give you an overview of the construction of the boat. They are in PDF format that can be viewed using Adobe Reader. There are two pages and they measure 279 × 216 mm (11″ × 8½″). They can be printed for carrying around.

After credit card authorisation the plans will be sent to the email address put on the order form.

When you have studied the plans, your next step might be to order the printed instruction manual, which will walk you through the project step-by-step.

This option contains the pre-cut wooden components with pre-cut joints, plus the construction manual. It does not contain the plans (these are not required because the wood is pre-cut), any of the epoxy to glue and coat the boat, the fabric or tape nor any of the hardware.

Sailing upgrade

This option can be retrospectively fitted and it turns the Pram hull into an able sailing boat. The rig is powerful for its size and easy to set up and handle. Please note that the base kit (or a completed hull) is needed in addition to the sailing upgrade.

With the optional sailing rig the pram makes a splendid sail trainer. Tiny responsive boats like this offer immediate feedback and give sailors tremendous confidence in their ability to predict how any boat will behave. It is often said that you will learn more about sailing in a few days in a dinghy than in years of ‘cruising’ in big boats. Many big boat sailors still get nervous sailing up to a dock or manoeuvring through a crowded harbour without an engine. These are the very skills that are improved in tiny boats. Of course, improving sailing skills is not the only reason to sail a dinghy; charging around in the Eastport Pram is simply fun. The Pram has been designed with a strengthened hull and longer skeg to make it ideal for towing as a tender.

The upgrade includes:

• Daggerboard blank
• Rudder blank
• Tiller blank

The sail is available with or without a reef point. Whether you need this depends on how and where you will be using the boat. Please feel free to contact us for advice if you aren't sure.

The sailing upgrade does not include the warp – it is in the rope package.

Sailing rope package

The rope package contains the warp needed to rig the boat. It includes the sail lacing, main sheet and halyard.

European Manufacturers for Chesapeake Light Craft

This boat is also available ready-built .

Recommended Products

Nesting Eastport Pram

An easy to build rowing and sailing pram dinghy that splits into two nesting sections for compact storage.

5-day Boat Building Course

Five day boat building course. Spend a week in the Lake District learning boatbuilding and take home your own beautiful wooden boat.

Boatbuilding DVD

How to build a lightweight boat (not just a kayak).

Bronze Open-Topped Rowlocks and Sockets

Open-topped polished silicon bronze rowlocks and matching side sockets or top sockets.

SeaGrade Oars

Elegant, flat-bladed wooden oars with tapered looms for balance and a smooth rowing stroke.

Eastport Pram Sail

Lug sail for an Eastport Pram or Nesting Eastport Pram dinghy in high-quality white, cream or tan material.

The Working Guide to Traditional Small-Boat Sails

Make your modern sailing boat look (and work) like a salty classic.

• Fyne Boat Kits — Old Cooperage Yard, Gatebeck, Kendal, Cumbria LA8 0HW
• Telephone: +44 (0)1539 567 148
• Email: info [at] fyneboatkits.co.uk

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8ft Pram Two-piece Nesting Dinghy

The nesting adventure 8ft pram dinghy is the smallest of the new range of nesting boats (previously built by nestaway boats) to be built by the drascombe team to our usual high standard of craftsmanship..

The Adventure 8ft pram dinghy is ideal for those with limited storage, or as a yacht tender. With its two-piece nesting hull, it fits in almost half the space of a conventional hulled boat. Quick to assemble, easy to row, ideal with a small electric engine, she also sails well with an optional 36sq ft lug sail rig.

Able to carry up to three adults, and yet stores away in under 4ft 8”, with the bow section nesting very neatly in the stern, making a very compact package. Folded or assembled, she can be carried on the deck or cabin of yachts, or inside your motor home or caravan.

The 8ft Pram comes as Rig ready as standard which costs £3,950.00 or you can upgrade to the full sail version which is £5,650.00

We can even arrange shipping of the nesting dinghies, so far we have shipped to Antigua, Australia, USA and delivered to Ireland

Price: Click here to download price list

Price: £3,950

Note: All prices include VAT

Specification:

• Overall Length: 2.5m (8’ 2”)
• Beam: 1.33m (4’ 4.5”)
• Nested Size (Tall): 1.46m (4’ 8”)
• Nested Size (Wide): 1.33m (4' 4.5”)
• Nested Size (Deep): 0.52m (1’ 7”)
• Capacity: 3 People
• Weight: 54kg (120lbs)
• Engine: 2.5hp or Electric
• Sail Area (Optional): 36 sq ft

We can make your dreams come true

Contact us to talk through your options and specifications, all of the Drascombe’s are built to each customers individual requirements, we do not sell you something you do not require.

Phone: 01794 301827 Address: The Old Dairy, Broughton Down Farm, Nether Wallop, Hants, SO20 8DS Reg No: 12972650 | Privacy & Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions © 2024 Drascombe Boats Limited

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Topaz WWS Pram- World Wide Sailor

$ 2,720.00

Back in Stock!

The World Wide Sailor Pram is a durable, self-bailing dinghy that is a perfect training boat for beginner sailors. The simple design is very low maintenance, and offers a platform very similar to an Optimist for kids to get excited about sailing.  The WWS Pram’s rotomolded polyethylene Trilam hull is nearly indestructible and will withstand the tough use that a beginner program boat takes. With no air bags or sail ties to worry about, and a nearly dry boat after capsize recovery, programs and individuals will love to ease of use with these pram trainers. 

‘READY TO SAIL’ IS SUPPLIED INCLUDING:

• Self bailing with built in flotation

• Durable sleeve sail with window and battens

• Reinforced webbing tack and clew

• Blocks, sheets, and halyard included

• Dyneema rope ties for boom block and lower block

• Complete Spar set: mast, sprit, and boom made of high grade aluminum with pro Clam Cleats

• Foils  made of superior Mahogany marine plywood

• Rudder complete with tiller and extension

We have boats in almost 50 countries around the world. Who’s next?

Description

The world wide sailor is the best-selling training optimist dinghy..

Its strong yet light Trilam PE, UV-resistant hull ensures an excellent sailing performance.

The World Wide Sailor sailboat has been especially designed for training sessions, with its extra reinforcements at vital points in the hull. The optimist is easy to handle, will always stay afloat and is self-bailing. After capsizing there will be hardly any water left in the cockpit, making the dinghy extremely safe and efficient during training sessions.  chosen by Professional sailing schools & clubs as the best training dinghy for beginning youth sailors. 

Related products

Topaz Omega Sport Complete

Hobie Getaway with Wing seats

Topaz Argo Club

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Tel: 252-489-3491

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TEL/FAX +44(0)1803 833899 | [email protected]

Small craft

Barrow Boat Sailing Pram Dinghy

• Builder: Barrow Boat Co. Norwich
• Location: Shropshire
• Length on deck: 8'
• Tonnage: 52kg

Enquire about Barrow Boat Sailing Pram Dinghy

Email us: [email protected]

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Full specification

Wooden Ships Comments on this Barrow Boat Sailing Pram Dinghy

8’ sailing pram dinghy built by the Barrow Boat Company, Norwich in 2003.

The Barrow Boats are so called because they have a small wheel at the boat and holes in the transom through which the oars are placed to create ‘wheelbarrow’ type handles enabling the boat to be wheeled around without a trolley.

This boat seems to have been used very little and is complete with rig and road trailer.   A super light dinghy that would suit a multitude of uses.

The hull weighs just 52kg so is eay to get on a roof rack and move around.  With the rig, oars ruder and dagger board, the whole set up is only 66kg.

Length             8’

Beam                4’6″

Construction

• Clinker planked in marine plywood with epoxy glued lands.
• There are no internal frames and no metal fastenings.
• Varnished mahogany transoms and gunwhales.  Rope fender all round.
• Solid varnished mahogany thwarts with supporting knees.
• Plywood dagger board and plywood drop plate rudder with stainless steel rudder fittings.
• Hull is finished with what is thought to be single pack varnish.
• Standing lug rig on varnished wooden mast, boom and lug yard.
• Tan terylene sail from Jeckells.
• Road trailer with spare wheel
• 2 x buoyancy bags
• Sail, spars and rigging
• Rudder and tiller
• Daggerboard
• Pair of oars
• Pair of bronze rowlocks
• Fixed bow wheel
• Anchor and warp
• 3 x lifejackets

Wooden Ships classic yachts brokers have an extensive database of boats for sale. With a wide range of sailboats , classic yachts , motor yachts and small classic boats , Wooden Ships has one of the largest selections of traditional wooden boats and yachts for sale in the UK.

Disclaimer:

These particulars have been prepared in good faith from information provided by the Vendors and are intended as a guide, Wooden Ships cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. The Purchaser should instruct his agent or surveyor to validate all details as necessary and satisfy himself with the condition of the vessel and its equipment.

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How to Sell a Yacht

September 5th 2022

How to sell a classic yacht – 10 things to expect from your broker.   Selling a classic yacht can be daunting, but working with a broker can simp…

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Pram Dinghy

• Thread starter davidphillips
• Start date 30 May 2003
• 30 May 2003

davidphillips

I have an original Yachting World Pram Dinghy built in the 1960's It's in good condition and was exhibited at the Boat Show some years ago. I need to get rid of it as my children now require something faster, but am unsure whether I should (a) Sell it and if so how much would it be worth? (b) Give it to a museum Any thoughts. <hr width=100% size=1>  

• 31 May 2003

Blue_Blazes

Angelawillis.

You must be physic.....Last night I talked about my childhood and the fact that my father built me a pram dinghy. Its name was Ratty and he taught me to sail on the River Wey and the Wey navigation at The Pelican Pub near Weybridge. If the price is right!!!! let me know how much as I would love to own your little one bum seater to paddle around the Kennet and Avon. Childhood reunited! If the price is too high are there any other pram dinghies for sale out there? <hr width=100% size=1>  

I'll take a reasonable offer - I'm on 023 80366196 (home) 023 80777624 (work) or email [email protected] <hr width=100% size=1>  

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• Home Board index Boats Boat maintenance, repair and restoration

Restoring a Yachting World Utility Pram

Post by meridian30 » Sat Apr 13, 2013 7:31 pm

Re: Restoring a Yachting World Utility Pram

Post by meridian30 » Sun Apr 14, 2013 4:03 pm

Post by solentgal » Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:09 am

Post by meridian30 » Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:36 am

Post by Ed » Mon Apr 15, 2013 10:44 am

Post by solentgal » Mon Apr 15, 2013 1:46 pm

Post by meridian30 » Mon Apr 15, 2013 3:05 pm

Post by Keith66 » Mon Apr 15, 2013 10:45 pm

Post by Simon Lewis » Fri May 24, 2013 12:39 pm

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NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

First picture of hero dad who died saving daughter after pram rolled onto tracks

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A father who heroically leapt in front of an oncoming train to try and save his twins’ lives has been named as Anand Runwal.

The pram carrying Mr Runwal’s two-year-old daughters rolled onto the tracks at Sydney’s Carlton station on Sunday after he let go ‘for a very, very short period of time’, local authorities say.

The 40-year-old jumped onto the tracks to shield them, and was killed along with one of the girls – though the other survived ‘largely untouched’.

The train ground to a halt with the trio trapped underneath, and when emergency services arrived they ‘could hear crying coming from underneath the train’, New South Wales police chief Paul Dunstan said.

The surviving girl was found ‘largely untouched’ between the rails, where there had been enough room for the train’s undercarriage to pass above her, he added.

The train had slowed on approach to the station despite not being scheduled to stop there.

‘Whether it’s a gust of wind or – we’re not quite sure – but it appears that the pram has instantly started to roll in the direction of the train lines’, Dunstan explained.

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The mother, 39, and her surviving daughter were taken to the local St. George Hospital where both were said to be in a stable condition.

Described as being ‘in a state of shock and struggling with what’s happened’, the mum is currently being supported by family and friends in their local Indian community, Dunstan said.

The tragedy has pained the local community, according to New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.

He said: ‘I hope over time they can gain some small solace knowing that the father died from an extraordinary, instinctive act of bravery.

‘In the face of a terrible, terrible accident, he gave his own life to try and save his children.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected] .

For more stories like this, check our news page .

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Live updates, couple in homemade yacht who died and washed ashore in a life raft could have been hit by larger ship, experts suggest.

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Experts have offered theories about how a thrill-seeking Canadian couple’s attempted transatlantic sailing expedition turned tragic last month, positing their homemade vessel may have been struck by a much larger ship soon after they departed Halifax on the country’s North East coast.

Earlier this month, the bodies of Brett Clibbery, 70, and Sarah Justine Packwood, 54, were found on a life raft washed up on Sable Island, Nova Scotia.

The area is ominously nicknamed the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” due to the large number of shipwrecks that wind up on its shores.

An official investigation is underway, and although no concrete answers have yet come to light, one leading theory is that their boat was badly damaged by a much larger vessel, forcing the couple to seek refuge in the life raft.

“While they do not have conclusive proof, [investigators] suspect the sailboat … was struck by a bulk carrier likely only a few days after departing Halifax,” a source close to the investigation revealed to Saltwire .

Investigators have reportedly inspected a carrier ship that was in the same area as the couple’s boat — named Theros — at the outset of its voyage, but the results of the probe have not been released to the public.

“The crew of the carrier ship told investigators there were no signs of damage and they were unaware of any collision with a smaller vessel,” the Daily Mirror writes.

The source surmised that the ship’s homemade additions might have presented additional problems, and veteran sailors told the outlet the excessive ballast from batteries and solar panels could have destabilized the boat.

The pair set sail June 11 on a journey that was supposed to take them across the Atlantic Ocean from Halifax to the Azores in their 42-foot yacht, which the couple built themselves.

The eco-friendly boat, which operated without a diesel engine, was due to arrive at its destination by July 2, to serve as a demonstration of how it’s possible to travel the world with electric, wind and solar-powered vessels.

The excursion was to be the couple’s first fully “green” journey on Theros, the building of which the couple chronicled on their YouTube channel, “Theros Adventures.”

Despite the swirling theories about how the doomed voyage turned deadly, the Canadian transportation safety board has not made any formal announcements indicating what happened

“At this time, we cannot say with complete certainty that the sailing vessel was struck by a ship, as we are still gathering information regarding the overdue sailing vessel Theros,” a spokesman said.

Clibbery and Packwood married on the yacht in 2016, one year after they met during a chance encounter at a bus stop in London, England.

Packwood was preparing to donate a kidney to her sister when she met Clibbery, who was visiting from Canada — a heartwarming story that was the center of a  2020 “How We Met” piece in The Guardian.

“We have been traveling and co-creating adventures ever since,” Packwood previously posted on YouTube.

Clibbery’s son, Brett, posted a loving tribute to the couple on Facebook, acknowledging the last few days had been really hard for the family, and news to emerge from the investigation has left it “hard to remain hopeful.”

He continued, “They were amazing people, and there isn’t anything that will fill the hole that has been left by their, so far, unexplained passing.

“Living will not be the same without your wisdom, and your wife was quickly becoming a beacon of knowledge, and kindness. I miss your smiles. I miss your voices. You will be forever missed.”

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