The SCAMP is a fetching little 12-foot beach cruiser designed by John Welsford and Kees Prins and offered in kit form by Small Craft Advisor Magazine. The pram-bowed, lug-rigged sailboat has been built in impressive numbers and acquired a well-deserved reputation for capability in a compact package.
CLC designer John C. Harris considers himself a fan. "The SCAMP has helped open a lot of eyes to the possibilities of coastal cruising in small, open boats," he says. "You don't need a 30-footer. In a 12-footer you can have bigger adventures for less money."
We've worked with a lot of SCAMP builders over the years, and a recurring refrain is "Can it have a pointed bow instead?" The SCAMP has a pram bow for functional reasons, but the question persists.
The design team at CLC huddled and emerged with a solution: a simple retrofit kit added to the pram bow, giving the SCAMP's flattened countenance a more traditional sharp nose.
Harris is quick to defend the pram bow as a design solution for maximizing volume on a given length. After all, thousands of his Eastport Pram and Passagemaker Dinghy designs have been built. "But after 300, 400 requests for a pointy-bowed SCAMP, we thought we should do something."
The result is a stitch-and-glue plywood module that can be assembled quickly and bolted to the SCAMP's bow. "We brought a SCAMP to a launching ramp on a busy Sunday afternoon, first without the Pointed Bow Kit, and then with it in place. We found that parking-lot questions about the SCAMP's pram bow were reduced by 93% when the Pointed Bow Kit was installed," Harris says.
"Without all of this launch-ramp explanation, we calculate that the time-savings for the typical SCAMP sailor will average 155 minutes per year. That's 155 more minutes of sailing. 155 more minutes with your grandchildren. 155 more minutes...of living," Harris says.
The kit comprises CNC-cut marine okoume plywood parts, epoxy, fiberglass, hardware, and a 75-page spiral-bound manual. The Pointed Bow Kit is assembled stitch-and-glue style and coated with epoxy and fiberglass for durability.
It fastens to the SCAMP's bow transom with three bolts, accessible through the cuddy. This allows your SCAMP to be returned to stock form quickly, for class regattas, or visits to Port Townsend, home of Small Craft Advisor.
"I'm told that illicitly modified SCAMPs have actually received citations from the Port Townsend Police Department for nonconformity," Harris says. He cautions that residents of Jefferson County might want to have their Pointed Bow Kits shipped to a friend in a neighboring county. "Chesapeake Light Craft is actually banned by ordinance from shipping stitch-and-glue kayak kits to Jefferson County. Who knows when the County Council will get around to banning Pointed Bow Kits for the SCAMP."
SCAMP Pointed Bow Kits are available starting April 1st, 2016.
