Building the Norwegian Pram

I came across this particular pram in a local marina, chained to the float like an ill-tempered

dog. It was named Original Sin and inside one sheer strake was painted 'Tender to Amazing Grace.'

It had the unpretentious elegance and sturdy construction of a working craft and I knew immediately

that it would make an ideal class project for my boat building classes. With the owner's permission, I hauled the boat and measured her so my colleague, Bill Nielsen, could draw up the plans. The only change we made was to replace the outside stern post, connecting transom to keel plank, with an internal knee. I liked the boat so much that I built one as a tender for my Nordic Folkboat and named it 'Come-along.'

The author rowing the "Come along" in San Francisco Bay

Although I had built a lot of furniture over the years, building a lapstrake boat had always

seemed much too difficult–better left to seasoned professionals. The laps disappeared into the

bow in an inexplicable way and how could wood be fitted so tightly it kept the water out? I did

once get my nerve up to try building a lapstrake pram but got so hopelessly bogged down at

the planking stage that I cut that fiasco up and fed it into the stove. This humiliating experience

reinforced my earlier notion that lapstrake was just too hard.

A few years later I got completely turned around by working with a couple of Nova Scotian

boatbuilders. One of them was Jim Smith who lived and worked in Dublin Shore, near the

LaHave River. Jim was an elderly, somewhat crusty man, who routinely built a small rowing

boat–a 'dinky'–with one helper in a week. I was privileged to be that helper for several weeks

and soon realized that there was no mystery about lapstrake. On the contrary, it turned out to

be a fast, economical way to build small boats. I then worked with a Shelburne boatbuilder,

Role Deschamp, who had helped plank hundreds of lapstrake lifeboats as an apprentice. We

built an 18 foot lapstrake sailboat in ten days and Role always claimed that, if I hadn't been

helping him, he could have done it in nine.

Alice Sloan Sailing the pram in Nova Scotia

These experiences persuaded me that lapstrake, far from being fiendishly difficult, is actually a

forgiving method of building small boats. If the overlap varies a fraction along a plank, or from

one plank to another, it doesn't show and will still keep out the water. Over the years I refined the methods and have published the plans and a detailed manual for building the boat that can be purchased here.

Detailed plans for the Pram and a manual

Prams developed along the rugged coast of Norway were used in fjords and sheltered water rather than the open sea. Nordic prams come in many shapes and sizes but are usually in the 8 to 18 foot range. They are characterized by a small, high transom in the bow of the boat, connected to a larger transom aft, with a plank keel. This plank bottom is actually very similar to dory construction except that the planks are overlapped and riveted, instead of being fastened to cleats. 

Prams have several advantages over other small craft: it is a relatively easy boat to build because the planking does not have to be twisted into a stem rabbet. Also, with only three planks to a side–like a dory–they are quick to plank up. Prams make excellent tenders to larger craft because they tow

well and have good carrying capacity for their length. This means that they can be stowed more readily on deck. You may never have to do this but it is possible to bring these boats, stern first, through a moderate, breaking surf to a beach.

A traditional Norwegian pram builder does not use molds or patterns but builds by hand and by eye. With no molds in the way he can sight down the plank edge and plane it to a smooth, even curve. This technique ensures the fairness of the next pair of planks and so on. A Norwegian

boatbuilder would complete the lapstrake shell and only then fit the transoms. Unless you have a fair amount of experience, I suggest that you start with both transoms in place and also install the two molds. Another option is to devise two half-molds that pivot, so they can be swung out of

the way when not needed.

There is no need to loft this pram, thanks to Bill Nielsen's excellent drawings, because all dimensions are given and patterns for molds, transoms, knees and other vital parts are shown full-size. So you can start right away and build this handsome and practical boat. However, I do advise you to read this manual thoroughly and study the drawings before picking up a saw.