Mancraft 101: Building the Eastport Pram Sailing Dinghy 

BTW, it was built from plans, although a kit would only skip a few steps.

I'm glad it helped. Please feel free to contact me at info@midnight-maker.com. I'm also very active on CLC's forum as CaptainSkully. It's a great resource.

The cleaner you can make the fillets when they're gooey, the less sanding you have to do later. Believe me, it's worth the effort. Even using contoured sanding shapes, it's very difficult to smooth out ugly fillets.

Yes, I call it the tack weld method. It also makes it easier to make the larger, long, smooth fillets later, after the boat is immobilized.

Hey Jack, thanks and great question! With a published payload of 375 pounds, the EP is pretty much maxed out with two adults (especially if you're a big guy like me), so I would recommend it more for recreation in protected waters. The good news is that the EP has a big sister, the Passagemaker dinghy. While it's not a true nesting pram, the front third does detach from the back two thirds, making the 11'7" dinghy much easier to handle, store, transport, etc. The PM has a payload of 650 pounds which gives you much more flexibility, versatility and most importantly, more freeboard in a seaway as tender. Another benefit is that the take-apart version of the PM is almost identical to the solid version, while the nesting EP has rectangular, removable thwarts that take away a lot of the good looks of the solid EP. The two boats are so similar that the construction methods are almost identical with the main exception of having to scarf plywood together to form the 12' panels to cut out the sides from 8' sheets. Interestingly enough, I'm about 20 hours into the build of the PM and will be posting a video series on the build. Feel free to contact me via midnight-maker.com if you have any specific questions and of course CLC's forum is one of the best for getting any answers you may have prior to buying a kit or your build process.

Thanks very much for your frank advice. I'm a pretty big polukah myself, and might look somewhat like a circus bear on a trike in an EP. The Passagemaker sure is an attractive design. Then John Harris has to go and make matters even more difficult by introducing the Tenderly 10. Sure is a nice boat. I suppose any small boat could be sawn in half to make a take-apart (if not a nester), but I wonder if I could ever muster up the nerve to cut a finished hull in two!

Hey Jack, the 10' tenderly is a beautiful boat and was very tempting for me. However, it's twice as difficult to build as the 8' EP and only gives you a few more pounds of payload for all that extra expense and effort. With that being said, I may still build one and they've even come out with a club version that has massive flotation tanks/seats. Not every boat can be cut in half and there are several, very specific steps required to do that (e.g. build a double bulkhead/cardboard sandwich). I'm actually almost to the point of bailing on my Passagemaker's take-apart option because of the concern over cutting the boat in half. Plus, the additional bulkhead means I'll have to buy another $80 sheet of plywood.

Hey Dick, thanks for the inquiry. The sail kit comes from Sailrite.com. When you purchase their kit, it comes with several pages of instructions (www.sailrite.com/Eastport-Pram-Mark-II-Lug-Main-Sail-Kit). Also please feel free to post any questions to CLC's forum (www.clcboats.com/forum/clcforum/). I'm very active there too. Good luck with your project!

Thanks! There is a diagram of the sail in the purchased plans, but that would mean you'd have to take it to a sailmaker and they'd make your sail as a one-off. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that option. You can also go on Sailrite.com and find the kit for the Mark II lug sail if you want to sew it yourself (pretty difficult), or I believe you might be able to purchase sails already made through them. There may be somewhat of a discount if you purchase a finished sail from a sailmaker who makes these sails all the time. I believe CLC even has a relationship with a sailmake familiar with the EP lug sail. Feel free to post on CLCBoats.com forum for specifics. You can also buy white or tanbark (red) sails a la carte through CLC.

All of the plans I've built so far are from CLCBoats.com. Search Eastport Pram and Passagemaker.

Hey Chad, it was great running into you. Feel free to contact me via info@midnight-maker.com. Hope to see you out there...

With epoxy and varnish on both parts, there's very little slop. Also, once the sail is loaded, it's not going to move around much. Some people also put some sort of chafe protection on the mast at the partners. That's really only 2mm on either side.

This boat was a prototype/experiment, so against everyone's recommendations I used 1/4" oak plywood from Home Depot. It did not hold up very well to water intrusion, so I highly recommend using marine grade plywood. Second boat build video coming soon...

The Eastport Pram is less than 8 feet long, so only room for one lug sail. My Passagemaker has a main and jib.

You could, but most of the strength is needed near and below the waterline. If you're expecting rough dock situations, it may be a good idea.