This boat has a great story. This pram was built in 1962 by the client’s Grandfather in Australia, who was a shipwright, and at one point worked on the Australia’s America Cup boat, Gretel. A pram is a centerboard boat with a stayed mast with a slightly larger bow, allowing for an extra seat in the front. The grandson has fond memories of the boat and vividly remembers it being used as a shore boat for their family’s sailboat. As part of the estate, it was shipped to the United States. The boat has not been used in about 30 years, however it has been stored correctly, and even has the moving tag still affixed to the bow.
The boat was well built, but all varnish and paint had to be stripped and redone. A few broken pieces of wood needed replacement, and an engine mount pad was to be removed as the boat was now for sail only.The first part of the project was to re-glass the bottom, as the fiber glass was coming off in sheets. The engine pad was removed and the whole bottom was sanding, fared, and re-glassed.After fairing and blocking the bottom, the client wanted to brighten the boat up and went with a red bottom.
Another request was to have the bow painted white which made the boat look sharp.
After painting, the steam bent rails had to be reattached which uses a lot of clamps. Outer rail really stiffened the boat.
Re-veneering the bow splash rail. Many clamps are needed to adhere the veneer to the underlying wood.
Boat is nearing complete and this shows three coats of varnish and the floorboards reattached to the bottom.
Showing the controls for the center board and the new main sheet block
