| Saipan A 7' 6" Flat-Bottom Sailing Pram By William & John Atkin |
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| A Tiny Sailing Pram | |
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| A year and more ago I received a letter and beautifully drawn penciled plans of a 7-foot 6-inch long sailing pram from my son John. His APO number, care Postmaster, New York, left me a little uncertain as to where this young man might be, where he was going, and when he might be expected home. We corresponded about the plans of this little boat and thought it appropriate to name her Saipan. The other dimensions on this craft are: breadth on deck, 3 feet 8 inches; breadth on bottom, 2 feet 7 1/2 inches; freeboard at the bow, 19 1/4 inches; least freeboard, 14 inches; freeboard at the stern, 16 inches. | |
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| The deck arrangement shows center thwart and mast bench. The centerboard trunk is attached to the thwart with oak straps each side to prevent the trunk from springing and vibrating. Floor gratings rest on cleats so as to raise the gratings an inch or so above the inside of the bottom. There is a cleat on the port side of the trunk upon which to belay the main halyard. Painter is attached to a ring on a strap under the bow as shown. Tow the little boat from here and she will keep her head up. The gunwales are left open; closed gunwales are bad things to have on a small boat because it is impossible to get bilge water, sand and dirt out by tipping the boat on one rail. Always some water and dirt remain in the closed gunwale. The boat is sailed with the helmsman sitting on the bottom gratings. The thwart is needed to hold the sides of the boat firm and for athwartship strength. | |
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| The rig is very simple. The mast will be made of clear spruce 13 feet 1 inch long from step to top. The sail will be made of 4-ounce balloon cloth and has an area of 28 1/2 square feet. | |
 PHOTOS OF SAIPAN 
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| Plans for Saipan are $100 MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM SHIPS PLANS STORE https://store.mysticseaport.org/ships-plans/ shipsplanstore@mysticseaport.org
+1 (860) 572 5360 | |
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