Wanted: 8 foot pram in excellent condition

[johnhogg]

I am look for a light weight 8 foot pram suitable for flyfishing. Weight is an important consideration.

PLease contact me at johnhogg@sbcglobal.net.

I live in the Sacramento area.

Thanks, John

[Jay Murakoshi]

John,

If you want a light weight 8' pram, the old TPL prams were the lightest on the market. I have two of them and they both weigh around 68lbs. each.
My prams are '73 models.

Jay

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Right now they are not that easy to find new. Good light wide stable prams are hard to find.

Like Jay mentioned, the old TP&L tri-hull fiberglass prams are nice but not available.

Valco and Western made prams in 8, 10, 12 and 14 feet. They are good to but not available. They were .050" aluminum and riveted. They are 44" at the bottom and 55" at the beam(top).

These are just about like standing on a 4 x 8 sheet which is good for standing and fly casting. They also fit in the bed of a pickup truck.

Most aluminum Jon boats under 14' are only 36" wide at the bottom and not very stable.

Up north of here in Nor Cal and southern Oregon are a handful of people who make them out of welded aluminum. These mostly have no floatation so if you sink one it's not going to float. Some of these have too much rocker for me and are not that stable.

We have talked about taking an 8 foot Valco down to the Klamath Boat plant in Vallejo, CA and see if they can't make some for us? They make little Jon boats but their are too narrow.