There's eight feet of fun and usefulness packed into this sturdy plywood pram dinghy.

The plans herewith  are  those of an eight-foot,   lightweight   pram   of   the following dimensions:
Length overall   7 feet 11 inches
Beam                           4 feet   0 inches
Depth                           16 inches
Sail area                       36 square feet

A centerboard has been installed in place of the original leeboard, the sliding gunter changed to Marconi rig and a rud­der and tiller instead of the steering oar.

The vee bottom is slightly more difficult to build than the flat bottom, but is su­perior especially for sailing and towing.

 The hard or sharp chine is simple in con­struction, but the flat chine is better, im­proving the looks and making rowing and towing in a heavy sea safer.

Fred B. Deere of Dallas. Texas, built Sabot for his wife and himself. He recommends it as ideal as  a trainer for the youngster learning to sail.

Order your material from this list:

Planking. Two panels resin-bonded fir plywood, ¼in. 3 ply, 48x96 in. This is sufficient for the bottom and side plank­ing and the bow deck with a little to spare.

Transoms. Bow and stern, one piece Af­rican or Philippine mahogany ¾ in. thick, about 9 in. wide, 10 ft. long.

Inner keel. One piece Sitka spruce, pine or mahogany ¾ x 3 in. x 7 ft. 6 in.

Outer keel. One piece white oak ¾ in. by 2 in. x 7 ft. 6 in.   (tapered).

Chine Stringers. Two pieces ⅞ in. x 2V4  in.  x 8 ft.

Gunwale Stringers. Two pieces Sitka spruce, each 1¾ x 1 in. x 8 ft.

Gunwale Cap. Mahogany ¼ x 5 in. (to finish 1⅜ in. wide) by 16 ft.

Bent Frames. Three pieces each ½x ¾ in. x 5 ft. 6 in.

Thwarts. Mahogany, one piece 9/16 x 7 in. x 10 ft. to be cut for three thwarts.

Flooring. Cedar, four pieces each ⅜ in. x 6 in. x 5 ft. 2 in., with three cleats each, white oak, ½x¾xl3 in.

Knees. Crooks of ⅝ in. Hackmatack.

Fastenings. Use bronze screw fasten­ings throughout.  Two gross ¾-in. No. 6 for planking, gunwale cap. etc. Three dozen 1 in. No. 8 for frames, fashion pieces, etc., three dozen 1¼ in. for outer keel, etc., and a few miscellaneous sizes.

Build the boat upside down and make the building form strong and rigid.

Before finally gluing the planking in place, drive all screws, then back them out, spread cold resinous glue along the contact surfaces and edges, and fasten down firmly, redriving all screws.

At first it is better to erect a temporary mold (Fig. I) on which the boat is built. When planked, the hull is lifted off and righted for the deck and interior finish.

 To build this form secure one panel of inexpensive fir plywood (not the water­proof variety) ¾ in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft., 5-ply, for the temporary molds and another panel of ¼ in. 3-ply fir of the same material as a template for the hull planking of the boat.

On the lines the molds are shown spaced 12 inches apart. If only one boat is to be built, eliminate the odd numbered molds and use only Nos. 2, 4, 6. These are spaced 24 inches apart. The construc­tion of these molds is shown in Fig. II.

Lay out each mold on the plywood (Fig. Ill). The lines are drawn and the offsets are measured to the outside of the. plank­ing. Cut each mold to the inside of the planking and provide a cut-out for keel, chines, gunwale stringer and the fore and aft keel mold.

This keel mold (Fig. IV) may be a piece of pine about 1 inch thick fitted into a slot in each mold; on this piece mark the location of each mold. The upper edge is shaped to the inside of the inner keel; the bottom edge should be level.

Care must be used in accurately placing each mold and securing it firmly to the floor. Each must be plumb and at right, angles to the centerline of the boat. Secure the bow and stern transoms with two di-the bow and stern transoms with two diagonal legs (Fig. I). The bent keel the building mold by one screw through the keel into each mold; the ends are bolted to the bow and stem transom knees.

Follow the same procedure for the chine and gunwale stringers. Fit the latter so that the sheer will be correct and have neither hills nor valleys. If preferred, this may be fitted after the hull is lifted off the building form.

When planking the hull use the panel of ¼-inch ordinary plywood as a template. Fit this template as carefully as you would the planking itself. See that the plywood bears solidly and evenly against the keel and chine stringers and that the edges are properly beveled so that they will butt snugly against the edge of the adjacent plank panel. Remove this template, lay it on the panel of resin-bonded plywood and mark around its edge with a pencil (Fig. V). Cut this piece out on the band saw allowing a little all around for final fitting and beveling. Examine the contact surface very carefully. The fit should be as near perfection as it is within your ability to make.

Fit this piece and screw-fasten in place, without glue. Now back out every fasten­ing, lift the panel clear and brush off all drillings, chips and sawdust on the contact surfaces. Apply the two elements of the resin glue to these surfaces, replace the panel and redrive every fastening quickly.
Fit the skeg, then the outer keel. Glue and screw-fasten at all contact surfaces.

The boat can be removed from the form, turned upright and set on two chocks at a convenient height for the interior trim, finish and painting. Before sanding or painting, carefully scrape off surplus glue. Cement all nail holes and depressions in the hull, sandpaper lightly and apply the priming coat of paint or varnish immedi­ately. You will find three to four coats of paint necessary on fir to hide the grain.

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