Pram Size Opinion

[Wetswinger]

I've got a line on two different wooden prams for the local P. Sound ponds. One is an 8ft and the other a 10ft. I'm 6ft, 230#. I want to be able to stand up to cast on occasion so secondary stability is important. I like the 8 footer as it is fully equipped and buff. The 10ft is well used but solid. You 8ft pram owners, are they stabile enough for a big guy to stand and cast? At 110 pounds, would the 10ft be too difficult to slide up a ramp into a pickup?

 

[BDD]

I have owned 8 and 10 footers. While I could stand and cast in the 8 foot Spring Creek, as a bigger guy, I'll take the 10 footer all day long and twice on Sunday. I like the extra room and stability and I can take a second person if needed. I haul it on a trailer, easy to load and unload. If I need something smaller for access, I have other boats that fill that need.

 

[Wanative]

I have owned 8 and 10 footers. While I could stand and cast in the 8 foot Spring Creek, as a bigger guy, I'll take the 10 footer all day long and twice on Sunday. I like the extra room and stability and I can take a second person if needed. I haul it on a trailer, easy to load and unload. If I need something smaller for access, I have other boats that fill that need.

What @BDD said. I have an 8' spring creek pram. At 6'4 and 250 lbs. I suggest the 10 footer as well.
In fact I'm going to sell my 8' pram.
While seated I cannot completely straighten my legs out and it I'm a little too wobbly to stand up and cast in it.

 

[Buzzy]

I have two prams - a wooden boat (Shoalman) built by a buddy, it's 8' long and has much wider beam than my 8' Springcreek pram, it is far more stable for me to stand up in and cast. Even so, I keep my self centered in the boat when I'm standing. The Springcreek boat is new to me, I've only fished from it three or four times. It's "smaller" than my wood boat but I find if I stay in the center of the boat, I'm good. I'm also not a "big" guy, I used to be 6' tall and I tip the scales at <160 pounds. If a powerboat goes by, I sit down and wait for the bow waves to pass. My friend Keith bought a 8' Springcreek boat this past fall, he hasn't fished out of it. He's 6'3" and much heavier than me, I wonder how he will like the new boat.

I have my eyes on a 10' Springcreek that a guy up the street hasn't hauled the stuff stored in it (sits in his garage instead of his car) for ten years. I might hint at him not needing it.... 9' flyrods don't fit inside an 8' boat.

 

[cdnred]

I'd give and agree with what @BDD says about the 10 ft pram. Don't box yourself into feeling crowded while out fishing. I'm thinking that at 6ft, 230# you'll find it less cramped and more enjoyable with the 10 ft pram plus it offers you the option of taking someone else along when that comes up. With the 8 ft pram, there will be at times you'll be wishing it was bigger. The 8 ft weighs in at about 75lbs while the 10 ft weighs about 110lbs, it depends on which you'd feel more comfortable handling on your own if putting into the back of your truck. The better option would be to just get a small trailer to haul it around..

 

[Bambooflyguy]

I have a brand new unused fold up trailer that would fit the bill....for sale.

 

[dep]

What @BDD said. I have an 8' spring creek pram. At 6'4 and 250 lbs. I suggest the 10 footer as well.
In fact I'm going to sell my 8' pram.
While seated I cannot completely straighten my legs out and it I'm a little too wobbly to stand up and cast in it.

how much for the spring creek?

 

[iveofione]

At 165# my 8' wide beam pram fits me perfectly and allows stable standing. Plus I can lock it out of sight inside my truck or in an enclosed 5'x8' trailer. But if I was 7'' taller and 85# heavier it would be like having size 12 feet and wearing size 10 shoes. Buy bigger, buy comfortable.

 

[Wetswinger]

I'd give and agree with what @BDD says about the 10 ft pram. Don't box yourself into feeling crowded while out fishing. I'm thinking that at 6ft, 230# you'll find it less cramped and more enjoyable with the 10 ft pram plus it offers you the option of taking someone else along when that comes up. With the 8 ft pram, there will be at times you'll be wishing it was bigger. The 8 ft weighs in at about 75lbs while the 10 ft weighs about 110lbs, it depends on which you'd feel more comfortable handling on your own if putting into the back of your truck. The better option would be to just get a small trailer to haul it around..

I have no room, unfortunately, for a trailer at my house. It goes in the truck bed only. Must be light enough to be able to slide up into my truck..

 

[troutpocket]

I sure like my 16’ Clacka Talking about stability….It’s like bringing my own dock. Probably not the right solution for everyone but they really do make for a great pram.

 

[cdnred]

I have no room, unfortunately, for a trailer at my house. It goes in the truck bed only. Must be light enough to be able to slide up into my truck..

I have a brand new unused fold up trailer that would fit the bill....boat for sale.

I'm just thinking if you don't have room for a trailer then you'd be looking at leaving the pram in the back of your truck always..? As @Bambooflyguy mentioned, a folding trailer might be an option for space but then the pram would still be an issue on where to keep it. A small trailer wouldn't take up any more space then a pram unless you where to stand the boat on end..

Have you considered looking at inflatable boats with or without a floor..? It would give you the convenience of not having to find a spot to park the trailer or storing the pram outside plus it could easily fit into the back of your truck. Some of the inflatables that have floors are very stable for standing up in plus they're much lighter to handle on your own. I've got a Colorado XT that has a swing wheel on the frame. Once on the ground, swing the wheel down and it easily rolls to the water's edge with little effort. It can also be outfitted similar to a pram with a trolling motor, fish finder or whatever. Over the winter months or when you're not using it, you could deflate it, put it in a bag or box and bring it inside freeing up your truck bed..

 

[Wetswinger]

Concerning trailers. As my foreman would say, " if it's got tits or tires, you're going to have problems with it!".

 

[iveofione]

Those of us that fish out of inflatables have largely given up the idea of standing up to cast. It's no big deal, maybe buy a longer rod, but I don't think I am missing many fish because I can't stand up. I have both a hard bottom boat and several inflatables and catch far more fish out of the inflatables.

For situations with limited space a blow-up boat seems like the answer. My fishing partner Freestone has a little Honda Element and hauls around a Watermaster for both stillwater and rivers. She is a small woman but manages the heavy Watermaster easily, last fall we rolled our boats with wheels on them on a 1 mile round trip into a lake. Even a big strong guy would struggle to do that with a pram.

 

[Eastside]

I sure like my 16’ Clacka Talking about stability….It’s like bringing my own dock. Probably not the right solution for everyone but they really do make for a great pram.

Mine as well. At almost 40 years old, it’s at a shop in Oregon for new gel coat inside and out as well as a few minor repairs. This shop does the guide boats traded in to Clackacraft.

 

[Wetswinger]

Those of us that fish out of inflatables have largely given up the idea of standing up to cast. It's no big deal, maybe buy a longer rod, but I don't think I am missing many fish because I can't stand up. I have both a hard bottom boat and several inflatables and catch far more fish out of the inflatables.

For situations with limited space a blow-up boat seems like the answer. My fishing partner Freestone has a little Honda Element and hauls around a Watermaster for both stillwater and rivers. She is a small woman but manages the heavy Watermaster easily, last fall we rolled our boats with wheels on them on a 1 mile round trip into a lake. Even a big strong guy would struggle to do that with a pram.

I really like my pontoon but I want to fish all Winter. The last few times I've gone, I've gotten too cold with my feet dangling in the water all day long, even when I've purposely overdressed. Changing in and out of waders and fins in the cold. Ugh.
Thanks for your input. All always your responses are appreciated...

 

[Old406Kid]

I have the 10', actually 9'6", Spring Creek and love it.
As mentioned above it's stable enough for two, with a little common sense, and really roomy when I'm by myself.
The two swiveling pedestal seats are really nice as is the storage compartment under each seat.
Front and rear pocket puller anchor systems make dropping and pulling anchors a breeze from anywhere in the boat
Another 'why didn't I think of that' feature is the velcro strips that are glued to each side for stowing up to 9' rods.
One more plus is not having to wader up and dangle my 73 year old legs in cold water all day.
The only real negatives are the loss of being able to impart action while trolling a line and the fact that it's a little heavy to easily load into a pickup. I have a nice trailer with a carpeted deck, thanks @Wayne Kohan, that makes loading pretty painless

 

[Wayne Kohan]

And on this same subject, I moved up to a 12 foot Koeffler whitewater pram which is even more stable and more freedom to move around, at least somewhat. I miss the pedestal seats on the SpringCreek but I now have a trailer with a roller and winch. I found the 10 footer very stable for standing in by oneself, but kinda cramped for 2 flyfisherpeople.

 

[troutpocket]

I had a 10’ 2 seater Spring Creek pram for many years. It does make a great 1 person boat. I had the wiring kit to stow a 12v battery under the rear seat that clipped into a trolling motor equipped with the matching connector. It was not a light weight boat but easily loaded on a flat bed trailer (after removing the motor and battery!). Ultimately the ergonomics of the seats weren’t great for me; I felt kinda folded up after a day of fishing if I didn’t take shore breaks to walk around. It’s a squirrelly boat in the wind (no keel) but good practice for operating my drift boat on lakes.

I also used Watermaster rafts for many years. I can see myself going back to something similar; I prefer the frameless inflatables over traditional pontoon boats for ease of setup, takedown, and storage.

 

[Buzzy]

I had a 10’ 2 seater Spring Creek pram for many years. It does make a great 1 person boat. I had the wiring kit to stow a 12v battery under the rear seat that clipped into a trolling motor equipped with the matching connector. It was not a light weight boat but easily loaded on a flat bed trailer (after removing the motor and battery!). Ultimately the ergonomics of the seats weren’t great for me; I felt kinda folded up after a day of fishing if I didn’t take shore breaks to walk around. It’s a squirrelly boat in the wind (no keel) but good practice for operating my drift boat on lakes.

I also used Watermaster rafts for many years. I can see myself going back to something similar; I prefer the frameless inflatables over traditional pontoon boats for ease of setup, takedown, and storage.

I thought when I bought the Spring Creek pram this past early summer that I'd sell my Ellensburg built wood pram - ending all that at least biennial sanding, priming, painting, ding repairs, etc., but my wood boats seat sits five inches or so higher than the Spring Creek. Both have about the same leg room but as I noted above, the wood boat is more stable for standing (and for an old fart like me, getting up from the seat of wood boat is easier than the glass boat).

Something comes to mind: One boat per fisher isn't enough.

 

[Dennis Mitchell]

Just ordered the 11'6 journey know what every means about small boats....