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Here are a few pics of last summers pram build and a brief explanation for them. For a backwoods build it came out pretty nice and has turned out to be a wonderful boat to fish out of. I particularly like the pedestal seat and the ability to spin around in my chair and fish out of either end.
Rod holder with rod in place and the tip retained by a plastic saddle
The saddle up close. It is friction fit and can be folded out of the way
Anchor puller in plywood oarlock made out of 11mm, 11 ply Baltic birch plywood epoxy laminated
Oar saddle in trailer and delrin lock
Carpeted oar blade retainer
A rod in trolling position. It stays put but is very easy to pick up. An added advantage is that the rod is more nearly horizontal than if it was just on the floor
The fixed bow bunk that holds the front at the right height with no side play
The removable stern bunk that indexes against the rub rails on the bottom of the boat and keeps it centered in the trailer. Also shown is the roller which makes launch and retrieve virtually a one handed operation
The final pedestal configuration. My first attempt was about 2'' short of where I wanted the seat so I built an extension and epoxied and glassed it in place. It actually provides better underseat storage and looks like I almost planned it that way.
The dry lockers with deck plates and O-ring seals are just the greatest for holding clutter down and keeping stuff out of the weather when necessary
The last shot is of the bow mounted anchor puller made with the same plywood and some 1/4'' plywood scraps and an old pulley. Since the picture was taken there is a matching plywood cleat to retain the rope
Not shown are the oak oarlock sockets with walnut inserts and nylon bushings. There are 4 of these on the boat so it can be rowed in either direction. The primary set of oarlocks themselves are solid marine brass that I computer designed and had cut on a wire EDM machine. Four strong bungee cords hold the boat firmly in place when underway and can be removed in seconds. I don't like straps as they often come loose and require too much pressure to keep in place.
This is the first boat I have built with a pedestal and I was concerned at first that it might not be rigid enough. The pedestal itself is hell for stout and when fitted to the curved bottom and epoxied in place it was plenty strong. I used some massive breasthooks made out of 5/4 hardwood and fitted the compound angles very carefully before epoxying in place and securing with stainless screws. Needless to say there is no flex at the corners.
The hardest part but probably the most fun was making the dry lockers from scratch with all of their compound angles. The straight cuts were simple on the table saw but since most were curved they had to be done on the band saw with the table tilted. Once epoxied in place they added tremendous strength to the structure but actually added very little weight. Lots of cut-n-try to get them right but worth the effort. And finally the paint. I used Valspar oil based primer on the whole boat and it was some of the nicest stuff I have ever put through my gun. The gray interior and red and white exterior are all Valspar marine topcoat-not made for below waterline use. But this boat will never be in the water for more than a few hours at a time and the way I baby stuff it will last longer than I will.
Ive
Rod holder with rod in place and the tip retained by a plastic saddle
The saddle up close. It is friction fit and can be folded out of the way
Anchor puller in plywood oarlock made out of 11mm, 11 ply Baltic birch plywood epoxy laminated
Oar saddle in trailer and delrin lock
Carpeted oar blade retainer
A rod in trolling position. It stays put but is very easy to pick up. An added advantage is that the rod is more nearly horizontal than if it was just on the floor
The fixed bow bunk that holds the front at the right height with no side play
The removable stern bunk that indexes against the rub rails on the bottom of the boat and keeps it centered in the trailer. Also shown is the roller which makes launch and retrieve virtually a one handed operation
The final pedestal configuration. My first attempt was about 2'' short of where I wanted the seat so I built an extension and epoxied and glassed it in place. It actually provides better underseat storage and looks like I almost planned it that way.
The dry lockers with deck plates and O-ring seals are just the greatest for holding clutter down and keeping stuff out of the weather when necessaryThe last shot is of the bow mounted anchor puller made with the same plywood and some 1/4'' plywood scraps and an old pulley. Since the picture was taken there is a matching plywood cleat to retain the rope
Not shown are the oak oarlock sockets with walnut inserts and nylon bushings. There are 4 of these on the boat so it can be rowed in either direction. The primary set of oarlocks themselves are solid marine brass that I computer designed and had cut on a wire EDM machine. Four strong bungee cords hold the boat firmly in place when underway and can be removed in seconds. I don't like straps as they often come loose and require too much pressure to keep in place.
This is the first boat I have built with a pedestal and I was concerned at first that it might not be rigid enough. The pedestal itself is hell for stout and when fitted to the curved bottom and epoxied in place it was plenty strong. I used some massive breasthooks made out of 5/4 hardwood and fitted the compound angles very carefully before epoxying in place and securing with stainless screws. Needless to say there is no flex at the corners.
The hardest part but probably the most fun was making the dry lockers from scratch with all of their compound angles. The straight cuts were simple on the table saw but since most were curved they had to be done on the band saw with the table tilted. Once epoxied in place they added tremendous strength to the structure but actually added very little weight. Lots of cut-n-try to get them right but worth the effort. And finally the paint. I used Valspar oil based primer on the whole boat and it was some of the nicest stuff I have ever put through my gun. The gray interior and red and white exterior are all Valspar marine topcoat-not made for below waterline use. But this boat will never be in the water for more than a few hours at a time and the way I baby stuff it will last longer than I will.
Ive
