dinghy project for the winter

Nov 26, 2002
41
Hi all,
Looked at Peter's Eastport Pram and was inspired. Found two places that are selling the kit. Noah's and Chesapeake Light Craft, both over 900 including shipping for the basic rowing kit. There must be a source who makes it, anyone knows who it is or where I can get it cheaper? Thanks.
Emil.
 
Dec 24, 2009
60
If you want to build from a kit, I dont think you´ll find it cheaper. Its a pretty advanced kit with epoxy, glass coating, strakes are routed in order to be able to make a lapstrake stich and glue build, copyrights, manual, shipping etc.
The eastport pram is very nice and Peters is and extremely good build, but IMHO, the estport pram is way to heavy to be taken onboard by one person. And difficult to do by two persons. I think Peters weigh 75 pounds, and I would no way be able to lift it onboard my Vega. I think thats the main reason Peter build another and lighter one. (correct me if I´m wrong)
I´m currently building a similar type pram, which is 10% smaller and A LOT lighter. Its final price will be around 150$ because I do everything myself, including making the plans. I also had a lot of things and dings lying around from previous projects. You can follow the build here:
 
Oct 30, 2019
574
I built the Eastport Pram from the CLC kit this spring. You can save a lot of money by cutting all the wood yourself. I ordered the kit (minus the sailing rig) and assembled everything in about 2-3 weeks (working at night).

I agree that it might be too heavy to straight lift aboard. I use the spinnaker halyard to hoist her aboard and set her on the foredeck. I also added custom made handholds/runners to the bottom to make her a little easier to manipulate. The handholds are also nice on the foredeck when the pram is tied down.

I didn't order the sailing rig because (1) it was too expensive as a kit, (2) I have some extra wood, dacron, a sewing machine, etc, & (3) I don't like the little gaff rig. I'm going to design and build the sailing rig this winter. I'm also considering building the other, lighter boat that Peter built...but not for the weight, just because it looks like fun!

Also...I'm not sure about the centerboard design for the eastport pram. I'm thinking about some kind of dagger board arrangement. So, if anyone has some ideas to replace the centerboard...please let me know.

I have a couple photos of the DINK posted at http://vegabella(dot)blogspot(dot)com/ I have some other photos, too, if you're interested. The kit really did come with just about everything you need. I ended up purchasing some extra epoxy.

(Props to Peter) Peter's site is excellent for ideas and documentation. He has built a number of boats, and knows his way around a workshop. He was also helpful with questions I had during the construction process.

Hope this helps.

Jack
Bella - V2620
 
Oct 30, 2019
1,459
Ah yes, the Black Fly pram. It's so light it almost flies up onto the deck by itself! But one must remember to tie it down when leaving it on the dock on a windy day, or it'll be gone!

I load the Eastport Pram using a spare halyard, hoisting it up vertically by the nose until the transom clears the lifelines, then swing it over, lower the transom as close to the mast as possible, and lower the bow (with the hull upside down) to rest near the bow cleat. It's a grunt to hoist, and will be a lot easier when I get off my duff and rig a simple two-part tackle ... one with a cam cleat should do the job. But it's quite "do-able" even with the heavier dinghy.

I built my Eastport from the plans, cutting all the pieces myself, as the price of shipping a kit to Canada was more than I cared to pay.
All materials were bought, as my scrap pile was getting a little lean, with a total cost of about $800, not including the sailing rig.

It's a well designed little boat, and could easily be made lighter by using 5mm ply for the hull, instead of 6mm, and replacing the 9mm sections with lighter, reinforced, 5mm ply. As always, it's a compromise between weight and strength. My 75 pounder is a very sturdy little boat that should be able to take a lot of rough usage.

But the Black Fly is the dinghy of choice right now, and it'll be interesting to see how long and well it stands up to being used as a tender. Only time will tell. Oh yes, and it was really cheap to build!

Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'
 
Jun 6, 2007
132
Inspired by Peter's beautiful little Black Fly, my husband decided to build a
dinghy this winter too. He's out in the barn right now working on the "Stasha"
from Wooden Widget (http://www.woodenwidget.com)--a two part nesting dinghy.
The last nesting dinghy he built was quite serviceable, rowed well, and nested
pretty compactly on the foredeck, but, it weighed a ton. It's now serving out
its days in a pond on Orcas Island, where it doesn't have to be taken out of the
water but once a year.
Sheila________________________________
From: Peter peter@...
To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, October 17, 2010 9:22:36 AM
Subject: [AlbinVega] Re: dinghy project for the winter


Ah yes, the Black Fly pram. It's so light it almost flies up onto the deck by
itself! But one must remember to tie it down when leaving it on the dock on a
windy day, or it'll be gone!

I load the Eastport Pram using a spare halyard, hoisting it up vertically by the
nose until the transom clears the lifelines, then swing it over, lower the
transom as close to the mast as possible, and lower the bow (with the hull
upside down) to rest near the bow cleat. It's a grunt to hoist, and will be a
lot easier when I get off my duff and rig a simple two-part tackle ... one with
a cam cleat should do the job. But it's quite "do-able" even with the heavier
dinghy.

I built my Eastport from the plans, cutting all the pieces myself, as the price
of shipping a kit to Canada was more than I cared to pay.
All materials were bought, as my scrap pile was getting a little lean, with a
total cost of about $800, not including the sailing rig.

It's a well designed little boat, and could easily be made lighter by using 5mm
ply for the hull, instead of 6mm, and replacing the 9mm sections with lighter,
reinforced, 5mm ply. As always, it's a compromise between weight and strength.
My 75 pounder is a very sturdy little boat that should be able to take a lot of
rough usage.

But the Black Fly is the dinghy of choice right now, and it'll be interesting to
see how long and well it stands up to being used as a tender. Only time will
tell. Oh yes, and it was really cheap to build!

Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'
 
Oct 30, 2019
1,459
After watching the videos on the Stasha website, I see I'd better hone my dinghy sailing skills before the next PNW Rendezvous!!

I've been looking at the plans for the 14' PIXIE Catamaran, and wondering how that would adapt to skin-on-frame construction ....

Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'