Share an adventure with an amateur boat builder as he builds a Prameke PK78 Dinghy!
Even though I grew up in the Great Lake State of Michigan I have never owned a boat.
I always said though, if you're going to live in Michigan you should own a boat, always wanted one too,
but I never prioritized boat ownership.
Now I live in Colorado, not nearly as much water, but I'm ready to have a small boat.
The reason: something to do on weekends with my wife and four year old son. There are plenty of lakes
and reservoirs to go boating on, with fantastic scenery to boot. Not to mention incredible fishing.
Did I mention fishing?
I have certain requirements for my little family boat.
Able to fit on top of my Subaru station wagon
Light enough for my wife and I to carry
Safe and secure out on the open water
Capable of using a Honda BF2d 2hp outboard
Large enough to carry the 3 of us and our fishing/picnic gear
I searched on the web and came up with a few ideas that somewhat fit my requirements.
Some of the places I want to go , Flaming Gorge Utah for example, are a little larger than I want to go
on an inflatable. Plus with a four year old and fishhooks both in a raft I would be uncomfortable out on
the open water. There's not a whole lot of room in those things either.
I was considering the Sandpiper 8. It fits my requirements except in the sturdy department. In a review I
read a guy was strapping one on the top of his car, cinched a strap down a little too tight and caused the
side of the boat to buckle. It popped back out when he released the boat with no visible damage. I don't feel
good about that for some reason.
The Porta-Bote is another great option but it's a little out of my budget. They seem pretty cool though.
Not only does the Prameke dinghy fit all my requirements, I think it will be fun to build. I made many boat and airplane models when I was a kid. This dinghy is just a big model you can ride in! The construction method is
stitch and glue, which looks easy enough to handle for a beginner like me. It will handle the motor I want with no problem.
Speaking of motors, I had three choices for the propulsion of this boat. Oars, electric trolling motor,
or gas outboard. In the gas outboard department there are 2 stroke and four stroke models.
We plan on doing some all day reservoir sightseeing picnic cruises. I will buy oars regardless for emergencies, however due to the planned length of some of our adventures I plan to bite the bullet and spend $900.00 for a brand new reliable Honda 2 horsepower 4 stroke outboard. I also don't want to have to
bring a battery charger with me on overnight trips and have to find electricity to charge the battery when we camp.
So my plan is to build the dinghy and purchase the Honda outboard for under $1200.00. As of today April 7, 2005: I have ordered the plans from Clark Craft for a total of $49.00. As soon as they arrive I plan on ordering my epoxy, paint, fiberglass, etc. from online sources (I'd buy local if I could).
I also need to get a bigger storage spot, which is where I plan to build and store this thing.
Once I have something of value to photograph I'll ad pix to this website. The plan is to photo document the entire process. I thought about putting up a pic or 2 of the
18" wingspan Cessna Bird Dog (balsa and tissue with 5 minute epoxy) that I'm building right now but, naaaa.
Click a link below to view my construction journal entries.
