The Norwegian Sailing Pram is the second kit in Model Shipways’ Shipwright Learning Series. The Shipwright Learning Series offers model ship kits from level 1 to level 3 to help you learn the skills needed to build museum quality models. The kits are designed by master modeler David Antscherl to guide the beginner through progressively more complex models, each building on the skills learned on the previous kit.
With easy lines, accurate laser-cut parts, and true plank-on-frame construction, this kit offers detailed pictorial instructions making it ideal as a beginner’s ship model, but results in a highly detailed scale model so it would also be a fun small project for an experienced ship modeler.
The Norwegian Sailing Pram kit is in 1 to 12 scale – that is one inch on the model is equal to 12 inches on the actual boat. The kit produces a twelve-inch-long model perfect for bookshelf or desk display.
The pram was developed along the Scandinavian coast about 1,000 years ago for use in sheltered waters such as the numerous fjords. Prams were built as small as eight feet long to as large as 18 feet. This model is of a pram is that is just about 12 feet in overall length
The ancestors of the Norwegian Pram were the Viking longships.
Like Longships, prams are double-ended and lapstrake built (that means the planks overlap rather than meet edge to edge) although unlike the longships, the pram has flat transoms at both fore and aft ends of the boat.
The pram features a daggerboard – a removable fin that reduces leeway – moving sideways – (what we called “crabbing” when I was a kid) when the wind is blowing at the beam of the boat.
Built of oak, the pram could be both rowed and sailed.
The added complexity of this kit over the Lowell Grand Banks Dory is immediately apparent just looking at the instruction manual. The Grand Banks Dory instruction manual is 15 pages, the Norwegian Sailing Pram instruction manual is 44 pages.
The parts lists also demonstrate the added complexity of the Norwegian Sailing Pram. The Lowell Grand Banks Dory parts list includes three sizes of basswood strips and eight sheets of laser-cut parts containing a total of 67 different parts. The Norwegian Sailing Pram kit includes five sizes of basswood strips and dowel, and nine laser cut sheets containing 100 parts.
In addition it includes Britannia metal detail castings, photo-etched brass parts, copper wire, three sizes of brass rod, brass tubing, brass nails, sailcloth, and three sizes of rigging thread.
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