Forgotten craft comes alive

Our boast builder Bård Kjølsrud might well be the most experienced pram builder in all of Norway.

Text and photo: Einar Chr. Erlingsen

Bård Kjøsrud is working on pram no. 6, intended for one of the colleges in Tønsberg and Færder.
Bård Kjøsrud is working on pram no. 6, intended for one of the colleges in Tønsberg and Færder.

pram is a simple, clink-built, flat-bottomed rowboat, used for small-time fishing and transportation. A couple of generations ago you could find thousands in our part of Norway. Since then, they have almost completely disappeared. That is, until now.

Bård built the first new pram at our Viking shipyard in 2019. Since then, he has built five more, including the two he is now working on. The first three were built on assignment with a Christian youth camp in neighbouring town Sandefjord, the fourth one was our gift to a Christian centre for people in need.

The two boats that Bård is now building are intended for the colleges in Tønsberg and Færder, where they will be used for teaching the students how to behave in a small boat. The order was given through a grant from a local bank foundation; Sparebank1 Nøtterøy-Tønsberg.

here you see a completed boat, given by us to a Christian centre for those in need.
here you see a completed boat, given by us to a Christian centre for those in need.
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