SCAMP, the class name of these little prams, stands for Small Craft Advisor Magazine Project. It was developed by New Zealand designer John Welsford for the Port Townsend-based magazine Small Craft Advisor. Designer/Builder Kees Prins helped to further develop the design for Small Craft Advisor Magazine, which owns the plans and from which you can purchase them. smallcraftadvisor.com/
From right, these boats are SCAMP-162 LUNA, SCAMP-11 NODDY, and SCAMP-170 TOR (stern to the camera, turning right).
The boat is 11 feet 11 inches long overall, has a beam of 5 feet 4 inches, and a draft of 7 inches with its offset centerboard up. It is ballasted with 173 pounds of water that is drained when the boat is hauled up the launching ramp, and consequently is easily towed behind any small vehicle such as Subaru Outback. smallcraftadvisor.com/scamppagemenu
It is considered a "micro-cruiser", and can sleep one person on one 8 foot 3 inch berth or two people on two 6 foot 6 inch berths. It achieves this surprising amount of room in such a short length because it is pram-bowed, meaning the vee-bow ends just above the water and flares into a flat transom, which significantly enhances available space. Four adults can easily sit in the cockpit with room to spare for an afternoon sail.
The boat can be built from plans or from a kit, both available from Small Craft Advisor. It has proven to be a very popular design, and dozens have been built to date.
Small Craft Advisor maintains a very active online discussion board for the boat, here: smallcraftadvisor.com/message-board2/viewforum.php?f=3
You will find designer John Welsford here: www.jwboatdesigns.co.nz/index.html
Building and sailing classes are offered by The Pocket Yacht (formerly the Small Craft Skills Academy). You can find out more, here:
www.thepocketyacht.com/
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The Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival is held each year the weekend following Labor Day.
With over 30,000 people attending the three-day event, and featuring 300 boats of all types and sizes, it is the largest wooden boat festival in the United States.
Here’s where to find information about the Festival: nwmaritime.org/events/wooden-boat-festival/
If you’re on Instagram or Twitter, click #woodenboatfestival .
