G. Prout and Sons of Canvey Island, Essex, in the United Kingdom, was initially a builder of folding dinghies, canoes and kayaks founded in 1935. In the 1950s, the company moved to the construction of small sailing

catamaran A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...

s with ''Shearwater I'' and later ''

Shearwater III The Shearwater III is a type of two crew racing catamaran, produced originally by G. Prout & Sons of Canvey Island, Essex, and was first sold in kit form. It is a "restricted development class". According to the UK's National Maritime Museum, Th ...

'', which the National Maritime Museum describes as the first production catamaran in the world. The company then developed from small catamarans to larger cruising vessels. G. Prout & Sons was dissolved in 2002.

History

Geoffrey Prout Geoffrey Prout (1894-1960) (pseudonym Roland Spencer) was an English boat builder, soldier, and author. From the 1910s to 1960s Prout wrote non-fiction boating works and juvenile adventure fiction. Early life Prout was born in Saxilby in 1894 ...

, a boating expert, writer, and World War I veteran, founded the company in 1935 after receiving a patent for his

folding boat A folding boat is usually a smaller boat, typically ranging from about 2 to nearly . Folding boats can be carried by one or two persons, and comfortably fit into a car trunk when packed. They come in several varieties. There are folding kaya ...

(collapsible canoe) in January 1935. Brothers

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

and

Roland Prout Roland Prout (1 March 1920 – 24 April 1997) was a British sprint canoer who competed in the early 1950s. He was eliminated in the heats of the K-2 1000 m event at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. Together with his brother Francis Pro ...

were canoeists who took part in the

1952 Helsinki Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

. They worked in the family firm G. Prout & Sons Ltd, with their father, making folding canoes and dingies. They developed their first catamaran, the ''Shearwater I'' in the early 1950s. Initially they experimentally lashed together two K1

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

s and added a bamboo platform and a mast and sail, and after the success of this went on to build the ''Shearwater I'', in which they participated in local regattas. They then developed the ''Shearwater III''. The brothers were both awarded the Freedom of the City of London and were appointed liverymen of the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights. In 1975 the brothers became directors of a new company, Prout Catamarans, while Frank's son and Roland's daughter continued to make catamarans as G. Prout & Sons Ltd. Prout Catamarans changed its name to 199 AB Limited in 2001 and went into administration the same year. In 1989 G. Prout & Sons Ltd was renamed Prout Holdings Ltd, and on 22 April 2020 the decision was made to wind up the company and a liquidator was appointed.

Cruising catamarans

Prouts built a large range of catamarans. The table is sorted initially by length of vessel, and is composed of those built in the company's heyday.

Folding Dinghies

Prout were also renowned for their folding dinghies made from wood and PVC Coated Canvas. These were available as full Sailing Dinghies (able to be rowed or powered), rowing and powered only or rowing only. The names of these dinghies were determined by their length. The 10 ft Seabird was a 10 ft Dagger board Sailing Dinghy, for sail, row and outboard, taking a sail area of 40sq. ft. and Folds to 10 ft. 3in.: 1 ft 6in: 6in and was sold complete with sail and all gear. Oars were extra. It weighed 102 lbs. The 8 ft 6in Seaswallow was an 8 ft 6in. Dagger board Sailing Dinghy, for sail, row and outboard, taking a sail area of 40sq. ft. and was sold complete with sail and all gear. Oars were extra. It weighed 86 lbs. The 7 ft 6in Seasprite was an 7 ft 6in. Dagger board Sailing Dinghy, for sail, row and outboard, and was sold complete with sail and all gear. Oars were extra. Oars were 5 ft for the Seasprite and Seaswallow and 6 ft for the Seabird. There was a spray deck available for the Seabird. There were trollies for the Seasprite and Seaswallow or Seabird. Also, there were Rowing and outboard options which were identical to the sailing versions but without a Dagger board for the Seabird (10 ft) and Seaswallow (8 ft 6in) versions. Rowing only options were available as small yacht dinghies. Yacht Dinghy at 7 ft 6in. Scoprel at 6 ft. Rowing Coracle at 5 ft. There was an outboard attachment for the rowing dinghies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prout, G. and Sons British boat builders Defunct manufacturing companies of England British companies disestablished in 2002 British companies established in 1935 Companies based in Essex Catamarans Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom