Seashell Dinghy

Description

The Seashell Pram is an exquisite 7 ft 11 in glued-lapstrake plywood sailing/rowing dinghy designed in 1991 by Joel White (son of E.B. White and longtime editor of WoodenBoat magazine) as the ultimate child’s boat and yacht tender for the Brooklin, Maine, community. With a graceful wineglass transom, sweet sheer, 4 ft 2 in beam, and only 90–110 lbs. complete, the Seashell is light enough for two adults to carry or car-top, yet stiff and able thanks to a small internal lead ballast shoe and low-aspect lines that echo the classic Herreshoff 12½ in miniature. She rows beautifully with one or two people using 7 ft spoon oars, but the real magic is the optional 38 sq ft balanced lug rig on an 11 ft unstayed carbon or spruce mast, a pivoting daggerboard (8 in up / 2 ft 6 in down), and a kick-up rudder. The rig is deliberately low and forgiving: the boat sails almost rail-up in 15 knots, tacks instantly, and is nearly impossible for a child to capsize unless deliberately hiked out. The forward compartment is watertight for flotation and storage, and the open cockpit seats two adults or three children in perfect comfort. Published in WoodenBoat #107 (July/August 1992) with full plans, the Seashell became an instant classic; Chesapeake Light Craft released a precision CNC-cut kit in the early 2000s that is still one of their best-selling designs (around 1,000 built by 2025). It remains the gold standard for a pretty, practical, and thoroughly delightful small pram that teaches real sailing while looking like it belongs on the davits of a Concordia yawl.