No matter how much one appreciates beautiful boats, long-distance sailing and the performance of modern sailing, one has to face the facts: sailing is not within the reach of everyone, but it is possible to sail "modestly". I am lucky that my office overlooks the water, so when I leave my keyboard, it only takes me five minutes to rig my pram and rediscover the simple pleasures of basic sailing.
A nutshell
I picked up this beautiful plywood hull from a yard where it was lying around. It was designed by Joel White, an architect from Maine (USA) where it is known as the Nutshell Pram. I use her for sculling, but she has a root and a daggerboard well, all reasons to want to rig her.
A recycled rig
A Moth Europe drift goes through the well? Perfect! A rudder ? What for when you have a sculling oar... The mast is a round fir tree that has had other uses, while a Marauder spinnaker pole makes a perfect yard. I had a very old Half tonner genoa. Trimmed to my dimensions, it makes a very decent sail, even if the Mylar is totally anachronistic compared to the style of the pram.
A high performance sail
The borders and reinforcements were made with pieces of duct tape recovered from a sailmaker and the eyelets came from the local hardware store. In the end, I get a surface of 5 m² and a decent hollow. If we compare this surface with the size of the boat (2.30 m) and its light weight, the ratio is rather favorable and offers satisfactory performances! The tail oar allows for instant maneuvers and compensates for deviations and other hazards when sailing close to the shore.
Basic fittings
The fittings are as minimal as possible. It comes entirely from the boxes and crates of equipment kept by all those who have owned or renovated boats. A trigger guard for the tack, a pantry for the sheet and a halyard on a transfiled block. A minimalism that proves to be efficient in use and above all extremely fast to implement.
Why grow up?
The boat goes upwind well and reaches enviable speeds for its size. It triggers sympathy every time it crosses the harbor and this is not the least of its qualities! You just have to forget about taking yourself seriously. To abdicate a little of your adult spirit to find the child who was tinkering with plank boats and dreaming of the open sea and sailing ships. So why stay on the shore when the wind is favorable, the sea is beautiful and you have boards and canvas?
