Basement Boat Building

[Jim Hardesty]

Sailors,
Excuse me for posting something not related to Catalina 34's.  I'm asking because I value the collective wisdom and experience of this group.
I'm thinking about building a boat this winter.  Leaning towards Chesapeake Light Craft  "Eastport Pram"

http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/wooden-sailboat-kits/eastport-pram/eastport-nesting-dinghy.html

Of course, info from them is only positive.  Has anyone done one?  Experience using one? 
Jim

[Ron Hill]

Jim : I don't know anything about the "East Port Pram", but my Son-in-Law built 2 wooden boats in his basement there in Erie Pa.

His name is Dr. Rod Troester and he's listed in the telephone book - give him a call.  A thought

[David Urscheler]

`Chesapeake makes some great kits. I built the Passage Maker Dinghy a couple years ago and was very happy with the results. Stitch and glue is fairly simple but takes a little practice. The directions were straight forward and easy to understand. Good luck!

[horsemel]

Jim,
I enjoy wood working in the winter months.  I really like building fine furniture.  A few years ago I built an 18' cedar strip canoe.  I built the stong back in my basement workshop and on a whim thought that I should maybe see if the thing would make it up the stairs and around the corner to the outside.  The strong back did ok, but the canoe would never have made it out of the basement.  Make sure your boat will fit through the doors and around the corners.  I ended-up taking over the garage for several months.

[Joe Holmes]

In my opinion, you need to make sure the freeboard when you have a full load of people and goods will be adequate for whatever wave conditions you expect to encounter.  I acquired a "free" old pram from my father that looked like a great idea at first, but was not really practical for us in the end.  It was very tender and with two people was not usable except in flat calm water.  I ended up buying a Zodiac Zoom and put on my 20 yr old 2 HP Honda on it.  Slow but reliable, very stable, and can handle some waves.  If I were you I'd try one out and make sure it meets your needs before I invested all that time and energy. 

[Stu Jackson]

I was wondering how long it would take for someone to mention what Mark did.   

Don't know if anyone sees NCIS on TV.  Gibbs had a beautiful wooden sailboat in his basement.  Stairs and doors out: not so much...