saw this pram on craigslist

[Greg F]

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/boa/2634173191.html

I don't know anything about it, but it looks pretty cool so I thought someone might be interested.

Greg

[caniretireyet?]

Its a older 10 foot Valco with a rerigged rear seat. Cool boat, but very pricey when you figure the core of it is the boat, with some other accessories in for the ride.

Steve

[luckydude]

What's the advantage of this over a canoe if the canoe is stable enough to stand up in and cast? Anything?

[JAWallace]

One of the problems with these older boats is that they are not built for 4-strokes. Either the transom must be reinforced or the HP turned way down.

Same thing with even the current Livingston boats. Cumbersome but stable and can be rigged for FF, but they have simply dropped the maximum HP rating to a very low level rather than retool the molds for an updated transom required by the 4 strokes.

[rotorhead902]

one problem I had with a previos boat, was that the design was for a two stroke engine. The four stroke engines (at least at that time) were heavier than the two strokes.

[JAWallace]

It's a function of weight and torque. If the CG plate doesn't give the max HP you can usually find it through the boat mfg website or on some of the forums. Then, find the weight of the max HP motor for that boat year range in the same manner. Use that weight not as a guide, but as an absolute maximum. Go to the current motor sites and look at the weights of the new motors until you find one equal to or less than the max weight of the old motor, and you have your new 4 stroke max HP limit.

I would not be too concerned about the added torque of a 4S under 25 HP. Above, yes, and you may need to add brackets and sheeting to the transom. You can also shift the battery and gas tank forward, and maybe even move a thwart seat forward to partially compensate if there's backwash or if the boat appears stern heavy. Some people will even use a small jack plate.

Some of the older 2S motors are fine. I had a mid 80s Johnson 15 HP (white) that was as dependable and almost as quiet as the current 4S motors. They are easy to work on, easy to rebuild, and require less maintenance than most 4S motors.

[Hibbygibi]

I own a newer version of this pram. It is a great little dry boat, very stable. and I have used a 6hp 2 stroke along with a 40 lb thrust electric and a 27 series dry cell,and have not had any back wash.. boat gets on plane and does 8 mph. Not bad for a little floater.. If you can find them and have a use for a pram grab it. They don't come up for sale too often.