Build the Norwegian pram

A wooden boat might just be the most beautiful things you can create with your hands. But of course, a boat shouldn’t just be nice to look at. If it isn’t seaworthy or if it doesn’t keep out the water, you risk the crew not making it safely home.

In this course, a group of six students will spend eight days building a Norwegian pram, using traditional tools and techniques.

A Norwegian pram is a round-bottomed, clinker-built boat type, characterized by having a transom at the stern and also a small transom at the bow.

The rounded shapes and the boat’s strong sheer line (“the banana profile”, seen from the side) make it remarkably seaworthy, considering its small size. It’s an ideal dinghy for a summer house or for coastal rowing.

We will build the boat as a rowing craft, though it can later be equipped with a sail.

This boat is simple and quick to build, yet the construction involves many of the core skills that form the foundation of small-boat construction.

It is built entirely from natural materials: solid wood fastened with copper rivets and bronze screws.

The course covers:

• Understanding construction drawings.
• Using planes, saws, chisels and drawknives.
• Measuring and fitting curved or irregular pieces, using compasses and bevel gauges.
• Fastening the boat’s parts, using copper rivets and bronze screws.
• Knowledge of wood species, different types of grain and cuts, and what they mean for the wood’s properties.
• Sharpening edge tools.

The goal of the course is that students afterwards will be able to build a similar boat on their own.