Loïck Peyron: Triple winner of the Ostar, holder of the Jules Verne Trophy, champion of many other races including the Barcelona World Race and the Transat Jacques Vabre, and an America’s Cup helmsman in 2010 (Alinghi) and 2012 (Artemis). In 1986, he finished fifth overall and first in his class in the Route du Rhum (Saint Malo, France to Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadalupe), despite a dismasting at the start. “One of my best races”!

After winning many victories on nearly every kind of sailing yacht on every ocean,  Loïck Peyron has a new dream…

On November 2, 2014, Loick will again be on the starting line at Saint Malo, but without the slightest claim on the overall victory. He is racing a special Route du Rhum, not on a maxi trimaran at the cutting edge of technology, but in in a 35’ trimaran that was cutting edge back in 1978.

“in honor of Mike Birch, my Jedi Master, and Walter Greene and more widely in tribute to all the pioneers of multihulls, it is close to my heart to revive this legendary trimaran with the means and techniques of the time”.

To accomplish this, Loïck will be aboard his new trimaran, Happy, the sister ship of Olympus Photo (10.67m) - the winner of the very first Route du Rhum in 1978. This race was a turning point in sailing history. Canadian skipper Mike Birch triumphed over Michel Malinovsky on monohull Kriter V (21m), after an unbelievable race, by a margin of only 98 seconds.

Happy was designed by Walter Greene (Walter finished fifth in the 1980 OSTAR) and was built for a significant part by his wife Joan, in Yarmouth.

Happy was launched the 20th of June at Vannes (Brittany) after a complete refit by Multiplast. Loïck installed simple fittings in the spirit of the times, and he wants to use a sextant for navigation!

Loïck will be joined on the starting line by four other “old boats”, some “Golden Oldies Multihulls” but that is another story. (thank you to Christian Février for his photos)

—Fred Monsonnec for Proa File 06-2014

The proa has unique requirements for a sailboat rig, the main one being that it is reversible fore and aft. Since no Western craft have this ability, we who are developing the proa for use here in the West are truly in uncharted waters.

The obvious place to look for inspiration is with the traditional proa rig: the Oceanic sprit, developed over thousands of years of ocean voyaging by the Pacific Islanders. This rig, often called the crab claw, is an ingenious blend of clever engineering and powerful aerodynamics, that is ideally suited to the great voyaging canoes and their sailors. The rig is very powerful for its area (with perhaps the highest lift coefficient of any rig), it is close-winded, has a low center of effort to keep heeling moments low, is structurally robust with low loads on the rigging and spars, is easy and forgiving to trim, and when combined with the asymmetrical Micronesian canoe hull, creates a very well balanced sailing machine that can be steered without rudders or oars on most courses.

Sounds perfect, you say, where do I sign? Not so fast. There is one big problem with the Oceanic sprit: it is difficult to sail short-handed, and impossible to single-hand, except in the smallest of sizes. During a shunt, the heel of the yard is carried from one end of the canoe to another by a crewmember, while other crew alternately slack and tighten the fore and aft running rigging. More crew are needed for larger canoes, because of the increasing heft of the spars. It is an operation that requires skill, timing, and muscle, and if not performed properly, can lead to the canoe being caught aback. This "shortcoming" is no shortcoming at all to the islanders, who sail with plenty of well-trained crew. Canoe sailing is an important part of island culture, and it is always done communally.

In contrast, sailing in the West has developed as a hobby and a sport, often with a single sailor or his family in control of the yacht. This has led to a proliferation of labor saving and power amplifying devices such as winches, block and tackle, roller furling, etc. Western sailors need rigs that are safe and pleasant for 1-2 people to sail; something the Pacific islanders need never take into consideration.

In a nutshell, this is the goal of Western proa experimentation: to combine the economy of materials and performance of the Pacific proa with the ease and safety of short-handed sailing that we desire in the West. To that end, proa sailors are on two distinct paths. One group is starting with the Oceanic rig and then making modifications designed to ease shunting for one or two crew, while the other group is starting with the already labor saving Western rigs, and adopting them to the peculiarities of the bilaterally asymmetric proa. Both groups have the same goal, though they are starting from opposite ends of the cultural rope.

Oceanic Inspired Rigs

• Crab Claw
• Gibbons

The Oceanic rig must be considered in context with the platform (canoe) it sits on. The deep and narrow asymmetrical V is the canoe’s only lateral plane. The center of lateral resistance (CLR) of this type of hull is about 30-40% of LWL (or, length of the canoe) behind the bow. The rig is set with the tack in the bow, and the center of effort (CE) of the rig aligns with the CLR of the hull. This alignment keeps the sail and hull in balance, so that the boat is capable of steering itself for long periods, and course changes may be achieved with mainsheet trim and/or weight shift of the crew.

If viewed from the top, the force vector of the sail travels directly away from the outrigger log, or ama, which functions as the canoe’s ballast. Lining up the ballast and sail CE in this fashion removes any downward pitch moment that the ballast might otherwise contribute to the hull, so that the very narrow bow is free to rise to oncoming waves, and to avoid pitchpoles.

Another feature of the Oceanic rigs is the backward sweep of the yard, which has lately been recognized as a valuable aerodynamic attribute, and one that likely contributes to the traditional proa’s performance. The backward sweep allows the sail to develop upward lift as well as drive as the sheets are eased, which is just what is desired in off-wind courses where the bow is more likely to be depressed by sail force. The backward sweep also contributes to vortex generation at high angles of attack, which may explain the crab-claw’s amazing power on a reach.

The geometry of the mast/windward stay/outrigger creates a strong yet flexible truss that utilizes the specific engineering attributes of the materials to their best advantage. The mast and outrigger poles are in near perfect compression, (no bending loads) while the stay is in pure tension. This arrangement allows the lightest possible structure, and savings in weight and cost that are not possible with catamaran or trimaran configurations, which always put heavy bending loads on their connectives. As you can see, the Oceanic sailing canoe is a *system* of rig, hull, and sailor. It is an elegant and effective solution that has been refined over many generations. The goal of the Oceanic inspired rigs is to maintain the balance of that ancient system, while mitigating the handling problems for Western sailors.

Shunting Western Rigs

• Sloop
• Balestron
• Schooner

For the past 100 years, Western sailing rig development has been in the hands of the sportsman. Sailing as a serious means of transport ended with the age of steam. Consequently, serious scientific study into sailing has been sporadic at best, and has largely depended on the vast amount of aerodynamic research done on behalf of the aeronautical industry.

This is not to say that advances have not been made, however they have almost always happened in the context of racing rules or some such *artificial* constraint, so that the research and development has mostly happened along narrow corridors of inquiry, focused on how to achieve a better rating under a certain rule. For most of the past century, that corridor has been the Marconi (Bermudan) sloop rig. The Marconi has been tweaked and tuned into a formidable aerodynamic weapon indeed, and its performance, especially to windward, is virtually unchallenged. The rig is powerful, very close-winded, can be easy to tack if designed correctly, and modern systems make it quick to reef, furl, and get under way.

The rig unfortunately is also highly stressed, and expensive because of it. The attraction of using a modern Western rig on a proa is its aerodynamic sophistication, its ease and familiarity of operation, and the fact that much costly and/or time consuming development time can be avoided.

One constant of modern fore and aft rigs is the fact that more sail area lies aft of the mast than before it. So if the mast of a sloop rig is placed in the center of a proa hull, (as it must) then the CE will be aft of center, not forward like a traditional proa. This would ruin the balance of hull and rig of the Oceanic canoe, so as with the traditional boat, both hull and rig must be considered together. If the CE shifts aft with every shunt, then so too must the CLR. This is done a number of ways, twin fore and aft daggerboard/rudders that are raised and lowered to adjust the CLR is one of many approaches.

Other Approaches

• Bolger Rig (AKA AYRS Square Sail)

Some original thinkers have been developing rigs for proas that do not necessarily belong to either the Oceanic or the Western tradition.

The iconoclast small boat designer, Philip C. Bolger, designed a proa rig that makes too much sense to be ignored. The basic concept is a rig that echoes the peculiar geometry of the proa; it is symmetrical fore and aft, and asymmetrical athwartships. This means the sail need not be turned around 180 degrees for every shunt, since the luff becomes the leech, and vice versa.Theoretically, this rig could greatly simplify and speed up the shunting process. So far however, practice has not equaled theory.

Traction kites and kite boarding are the hot new watersport, replacing windsurfing as the latest buzz. Some think the proa will make the best platform for kite boats. When the kite sailors get all the bugs worked out, be ready for a true revolution in sailing!

Originally published 2001. We are re-publishing some archived articles in order to present them to newer readers.

Whenever we drive by a marina, we almost always have to duck in and take a quick look, to see if there are interesting multis lurking about. It’s called walking the dock, and the online version is perusing Craigslist and brokerage ads. When we stumble upon something interesting, we’ll post it here as Dock Ranger.

Sundreamer is the iconic performance cruising cat designed by New Zealand artist David Barker, and built by he and Fiona Kay on a New Zealand farm in 1983. He and the boat were showcased in Nautical Quarterly 23, which is where I first read about it, and it’s still as cool today as it was when launched, 31 years ago.

Like most of us, David Barker couldn’t afford his dream boat, until he conceived of a cunning plan:

Sundreamer and her near sister Stratosphere are unique products of a design and construction concept that brings large multihulls into the realm of possibility for many transoceanic dreamers, people whose pocketbooks are less prepossessing than their dreams. Both are modular yachts, born in a simple mold… The giant main beam that connects the hulls of Sundreamer was lifted from that mold, as were the underbodies, the side decks, and the blisters on either flank. There are 14 different applications of the same shape in Sundreamer, the pieces were simply assembled at the end of the construction process through the magic of fiberglass and kevlar.
—Jay Broze, Nautical Quarterly

To Proanista, the “blisters” echo the anti-capsize pods found on some proas. They weren’t added for stability, however, but to open up the confined linear space of the hulls, with a minimum of weight and windage. Sundreamer is as modern today as ever, give her a reverse bow facelift and everyone would think she was the latest thing.

Well cared for and updated over the past decade, find it here on Seaboats for $200,000 NZ.

An overview of the potentials and problems of the remarkable rig of the native Pacific proa.

The Traditional Oceanic sprit rig (aka crab claw) has, in Western eyes, been considered a romantic if not particularly effective rig that most likely compared to the Mediterranean lateen in aerodynamic performance. That is, until famed sailboat aerodynamics researcher C. A. Marchaj published this startling graph in his research paper Planform Effect of a Number of Rigs on Sail Power.

Marchaj, under a grant from the Overseas Development Administration of the United Kingdom, tested the efficiency and power of various traditional rig types utilizing models in a wind tunnel.

Even more startling is the extraordinary performance of the crab claw sail, which demonstrates its superiority to a Bermuda mainsail right from the close-hauled condition. Its superiority increases when the boat bears away, and on reaching, with the heading angle 90 degrees, the driving force coefficient of the crab claw is about 1.7, whereas that of the Bermuda rig is about 0.9. That is, the crab claw rig delivers about 90% more driving power than the Bermuda rig.
~ Sail Performance

Marchaj theorized that the crab claw develops lift in a different way than the standard Western Bermudan. It operates in what is called *vortex lift* mode, which creates powerful spinning tornadoes of air off the leading edge. The spinning vortexes are zones of intense low pressure, and thus lift is created. It is beyond the scope of this article go into the details of crab claw sail aerodynamics, but if you wish to learn more, Marchaj’ book Sail Performance (Adlard Coles Nautical 1996) is highly recommended.

Marchaj’s paper was very much an "Emperor Has No Clothes" sort of wake up call to those who believe the modern Bermuda rig is the epitome of aerodynamic progress. His tests showed that the crab claw was not the only traditional rig that could outperform the Bermudan on some courses. A lateen was superior to windward, and the gunter, sprit, and lugsail were all superior overall to the Bermudan.

The above notwithstanding, the Bermudan with a small jib tested very well close-hauled, second only to a lateen in Lift to Drag (L/D) ratio. The modern sport of yacht racing has developed around the triangular race course, a course that highly favors windward sailing efficiency. It is little wonder then that the rig most favored is one that is at its best to windward. The Bermudan tested very poorly on off wind courses however, and that fact is born out by racers needing to carry all manner of off-wind sails to augment the performance of the basic windward rig. It has also been pointed out that very fast sailboats, such as racing multihulls or ice boats, create so much apparent wind that they are always sailing close-hauled, and therefore, it’s the L/D ratio that really counts, not the max Lift Coefficient.

Crab Claw Potential

The crab claw has the potential to become a desirable cruising rig for many types of sailboat, not just proas. The rig has these potential benefits:

• Low stress rigging. This leads to cost savings, safety, and robustness.
• High performance. The crab claw has amazing power on off-wind courses, without the need for auxiliary headsails. This means the cruising sailor need no longer choose between power and ease of handling. In other words, you can remove all the expensive spinnakers, screachers, etc., and enjoy its remarkable off wind power.
• Ease of operation. The crab claw rig does not exhibit the sudden fall-off of lift, known as a stall, that the Bermudan rig does. On the contrary, it continues to pull even harder at large angles of attack. This means that the sail is more forgiving of widely varying angles of attack, and is easier to trim. All good things for the cruising sailor.
• Low center of effort. The crab claw has a very low CE and a low heeling moment, which means that any boat fitted with such a rig would enjoy enhanced stability, and would also experience reduced pitch-poling tendencies.
• Adjustable height of CE. The crab claw can be oriented in different ways simply by adjusting the halyard. The rig may be tilted straight up in light air to reach for the better breeze aloft, or in a fresh breeze it may be angled way down, to keep the CE as low as possible, and to apply the power in the safest, most manageable way.
• Low Cost. Low stress rigging, no headsails or extra downwind sails all lead to a cheap rig. The crab claw suits the do-it-yourselfer, and people on tight budgets.

Areas for Improvement

Promising as the rig is, there are certainly areas that could use study and further development.

Close-hauled ability

The crab claw is inferior to the Bermudan, no doubt. Not by much, but enough so that in a mainly windward race such as a triangular race course, the Bermudan would win. I am not aware of any modern attempts to improve the crab claw’s weatherliness, but I am sure that such an effort would lead to considerable gains. Consider the ‘claw to be at the equivalent development point of the first Windsurfer rig, in the 1960’s. It appears that there is actually a good deal of room for development, and study of the rig indicates that there are three main areas open for improvement: sharp leading edges, reduction in parasitic drag, and the specific shape of the sailplan.

The shape of the sail can benefit from a careful study of the interaction of the hull and the boom vortex, with an eye to optimizing flow of air past the boom. Proper amounts of designed- in sail twist are important and will cut drag further. Parasitic drag can be tackled in much the same manner as it is on modern wing- mast sloops, using a streamlined mast that is angled for least drag on each tack, taking care with the design of halyard placement, rigging attachments and the like to smooth the airflow.

The most promising area is in the application of sharp leading edges. Where the crab-claw with round or oval spars will show a maximum L/D ratio of around 8/1, NACA wind-tunnel testing of sharp-leading edge delta wings of similar aspect ratio show ratios around 13/1, a 62% improvement. Happily, this improvement in L/D does not come at the expense of power. Marchaj’s wind tunnel tests with a round-spar crab-claw, mounted on a representative hull, gave a whole-boat L/D of about 4/1. This argues persuasively that an improved claw-equipped proa should show a L/D at least as high as 5.5/1, and potentially even as high as 6.5/1, which puts it right up there with rotating-mast, full-battened sloops- all while retaining its high power. So the saga of the crab claw is not over by any means, and a little low-cost R&D could pay off with a very fast boat.
- John Dalziel

Reefing

Pacific Islanders apparently never reefed. There are no reef points in traditional Oceanic lateen sails. Instead, the Oceanic sailors developed a system of brails or "spilling lines". These are two lines that are tied on about 3/4th of the way out along the boom. They are then run on each side of the sail through deadeyes or blocks located on the mast top, and then down to deck, where they are either hand-held or cleated, depending on wind conditions. These lines serve several purposes;

• They act as a topping lift.
• They function like lazyjacks to keep the yard and sailcloth under control when hoisting or lowering the yard.
• They allow the sail to be de-powered or quickly furled by lifting the boom up close to the yard.
• By manipulating the lines individually, huge changes in sail drive can be had without any reduction in sail area.
• If the leeward brail is tightened, it produces a "crease" in the belly of the sail, sharply reducing lift much in the manner of flattening a western sail.

Things get even more interesting if the windward brail is tightened. Efficient lift requires a relatively flat sail. By tightening the windward brail, the sailcloth is forced into a very deep curve, effectively cutting drive. At the same time, more of what power remains is directed upwards as lift, so overturning force is diminished even further. The effectiveness of these measures is apparently so high that the Oceanic sailors never felt the need to develop any sort of reefing system.

Left: Oceanic canoe with spilling lines shown in blue.

Right: Windward spilling line tightened, which causes a deep curve in the sail shape. This reduces the drive of the sail and the effective sail area.

Off-Center Pull

Though the rig is well-balanced on traditional proas while on windward courses or reaching, as the wind becomes more abaft the beam and the sheet is eased, the sail creates powerful weather helm, so that a steering paddle or rudder is required to maintain course.

Shunting Ease and Speed

The rig is not easy to shunt, mainly because the heel of the yard must be moved all the way from one bow to the other every time. Concurrently, the mast is pivoting forward while the backstays are being adjusted, and the boom is being guided around to leeward with the mainsheet. Lots to do. See Shunting Solutions for ideas.

Shunting Solutions

We are making strides in taming the ‘claw. Below are some strategies.

The Tack Track

Several people, starting with Commodore Ralph M. Munroe in 1898 Have run a track along the leeward gunwale of the canoe, from bow to bow. The tack of the sail sits on a car, which can be pulled along via block and tackle during a shunt. This keeps the heel of the yard under control, and eliminates the crew that would otherwise be carrying the heel from end to end. This doesn’t work for proas that have a lee pod or deck house in the way, and can be expensive if Harken (or similar) track is used.

Vertical, Non-Pivoting Mast

Com. Munroe also employed a simple halyard bridle on the yard, so that the mast did not need to pivot fore and aft during the shunt. Removing the need to pivot the mast makes the shunting process that much simpler. The scheme only works with a tack track, and it removes some of the CE shifting flexibility (both fore-aft and up-down) of the traditional Oceanic rig.

Endless Sheet Tack Line

Similar to the tack track, only without the track! The tack is hauled from end to end via an endless sheet, with blocks at each bow. This doesn’t give as much control over the yard, but it is a lot cheaper and easier to run over deck humps and obstructions. It works great when combined with…

Bungee Cord Backstays

Pioneered by Gary Dierking, the idea is to replace the back muscles of the crew with the contracting power of bungee cords. The mast must pivot fore and aft with the traditional Micronesian rig, and adjustable stays are the way it is done. If each stay has a length of bungee incorporated into it, then they will tend to keep the mast in the vertical position, yet will still allow the mast to be pulled down toward either end. As the mast tilts forward, the aft bungee stay stretches tight, which in effect creates stored energy, and when the forestay is released at the start of a shunt, the stretched backstay pulls the mast up to vertical, automatically.

To shunt:

• Release the main sheet. To avoid the danger of going aback it is important to get 90 degrees to the wind before you start moving the yard.
• As the boat glides to a stop, release the tack line at the bow. The mast is pulled up to near vertical by the elastic back stay.
• Haul the tack to the new bow with the tack line. The mast arcs smoothly to the other end, automatically.
• Pull in main sheet, and go.

Over-The-Top Coming About

A novel rig developed experimentally by John Rowland. Its principle is similar to that of a skate sail where the skater passes the sail over his head in coming about. This radical approach to tacking a crab claw is being developed by several people at the moment. The scheme takes advantage of the ‘claws symmetry by placing a strut between the yard and boom, which are now interchangeable. The sail pivots over the mast, hinged to the mast head at the center of the strut. In a sense, the sail is "flown" over the top of the mast, much like a tethered hang glider, or Rogallo wing. In theory, if all sheets are let fly, the sail will assume a horizontal attitude and feather into the wind. Ironically, over-the-top coming about works best on boats that tack to come about, not shunt.

Editor’s Note: Since the publication of Marchaj’s theory of vortex lift generation, there has been much discussion and some experimentation with the crab claw. The vortex lift theory has been questioned. Other experimentors have been unable to duplicate Marchaj’s test results (though I am not aware of any wind tunnel tests that exactly duplicated the methodology of Marchaj). The crab claw sail varies considerably from the delta wing that Marchaj uses to justify his vortex lift theory. It may well be that the high lift of the crab claw is due to factors not yet well understood.

Originally published 2001. We are re-publishing some archived articles in order to present them to newer readers.

The 32’ Podcat was designed and built by D. Kirk Fuller in the late 1980’s. The iconoclast cat was featured in the March/April 1988 edition of Multihulls Magazine in a story written by Jim Brown. Apparently Jim and I were among the few who liked the design, because few, if any, were ever sold. Innovative in its day, the Podcat featured all composite construction with fiberglass truss beams and a carbon fiber free-standing mast. To avoid corrosion, there was no metal at all in the design, with everything from stanchions to cleats custom fabricated from fiberglass composite. Truly a giant beach cat, the boat was more like a surfer’s mobile base camp than a lumbering condomaran. It had minimal accommodations in the central pod, but plenty of storage for surfboards and other large items within the hulls.

This example is said to be 36’ LOA, and it appears that a transom extension is responsible for the extra length. Find it here on Craiglist in Santa Barbara for $36,000. Watch the video here on Youtube.

Long time Proa File contributor Chris Ostlind is working up a new ultra-light, hybrid human/wind powered tri based on an A-Class cat hull. Now that’s what we call recycling. Chris says:

I’ve been pretty much out of the design arena for a little over two years now, so I was excited when I was asked to develop a set of amas for a fast hybrid function boat being built by my friend and multihull guru, Mike Leneman. Mike’s boat is based on a hull from an A-Class catamaran, making use of a Hobie Mirage drive, as well as a snappy sailing rig for propulsion and the whole idea of a super skinny, and quick main hull pretty much lit my slumbering creativity.

The new boat features a modular aka/ama modular unit with mounting technology directly from the high performance Seacart 30 racing trimaran:

The aka beam ends are tapered, four sided conical shapes with matching receiver sockets in the vaka hull to accept the aka ends when being assembled. This set of shapes prevents any binding of the akas in their pockets and ensures that they will slide home firmly. The assembly is then kept in place with discreet water stays, which not only hold the thing together, but they redirect the loadings away from tensioned beams to forms that are now in compression… allowing for lighter fabrication and an overall lighter boat.

Another design approach in use for this boat are the strongly shaped asymmetric amas. We haven’t tested this solution in the water yet, but we anticipate that the wetted shapes will provide enough leeway prevention to preclude the use of a keel appendage.

The great news is that even if you don’t have a spare A-cat hull lying around, Chris has developed a plywood/epoxy home builder version of the boat. Follow the development here on facebook.

From Chris Ostlind | Lunada Design

A report on the 2014 Proa Raid in Poland

We are a group of friends sailing proas from Poland and Germany. Every year we meet to share our experience and to raid together to gain some more experience. Last year we were sailing on the Baltic Sea. We had the same idea this year, after the Proa Conference at Jamno Lake in Poland. But we had to change our plans. The channel between the lake and sea was closed, what we had discovered in the last hours before start. We couldn’t get boats to the seashore, across forest and dunes - big frustration. We packed our boats and hit the road, changing the spot. So this year we started near Gdańsk, the biggest Polish city on the coast.

Three boats attended Proa Raid 2014. All of them were shunting proas with crab claw sails. Strictly shunting, no tacking, no safety gear to protect the fail of the mast in a back-wind. No motor.

1. Mata Pjoa. The best and biggest Polish proa. Designed by Janusz Ostrowski. LOA 7m, LWL 6,2m, sail 16,6 m2 from polytarp 140 g (the third year in use). Hulls build from plywood 4mm, pine frames, ama 2/3 of vaka displacement 120 liters, 25 kg, width from axis to axis ½ length of vaka. Vaka is asymmetric deep “V” with semi-spherical sides. All spars, except the mast, are made from hollow pine, including iakos. Worth to mention it is first grade pine. Joining of vaka and ama is flexible, ama can to move independently to a great extent. Toliwaga: Janusz, crew: Mateusz and sometimes myself (Grzegorz Korczynski).

2. Lili`Uokalani. Follows Otmar Karschulin’s P5 design with improvements by Reto. Built by Reto Brehm, Bavaria, Germany. LOA 5m, the rest of P5 data available on internet. Vaka and ama build from 4mm plywood, all spars – carbon fiber. Sail – dacron, the biggest possible. A real “hot-rod” proa. Toliwaga: Reto, crew: Erika (me the first day, when Erica was checking how Mata Pjoa behaves on a chop of Zatoka Gdańska)

3. Basso. Designed and built by Paweł Kowalski from Poland. LOA 4,6m, LWL 4,3 m. Ama displacement 47 kg. Width from axis to axis 2,2 m. Vaka and ama made from 4 mm ABS with aluminum stripes on the edges. Glued and melted. Spars made from aluminum. Sail 10 m2 from polytarp 140g. Mast 4m long. The white boat on the pictures. Toliwaga: Paweł. Crew: myself, starting from the second day.

The Raid

Day 1 - Tuesday, 8th of July 2014

We came by Wisła Śmiała (old estuary of Vistula river) to the sea, and sailed against the east wind. This day the wind was NE, about 3B, the sea 2B. We sailed by the sea towards actual Wisła River estuary. But little drama has happened to Basso. We had to land on the beach for a rescue operation – ama of Basso was full of water. Paweł this day was sailing alone on Basso. Basso behaves very well but with ama full of water she is hardly predictable, or sometimes absolutely unable to go off-wind. Basso was fallen aside by a squall (the only capsize we had during all raid) but Paweł straightened Basso back and almost stayed dry!!! I have no idea how he could do that. In the entrance to the harbor of Wisła Śmiała, when we come back from the sea, Basso was back winded and again Paweł managed to get all things streamlined and finished without any help.

Three proas have passed by sailors and windsurfers from Polish National Center of Sailing in Górki Zachodnie, impressing them with speed and rare view of full crab claw sail set off-wind. We came back to our camping place on the bank of the river, a man was waiting for us at our camp, he demanded an explanation of what kind of boats we are sailing. So Janusz and I as a crew offered him a short evening sailing in relaxing 1-2B wind. I would say it was perfect, effortless sailing and the crew (me) had nothing to do at all. His name was Lech and he was very enthusiastic. Being a former sailor and the man of the sea (working his whole life as an officer on big fishing boats from Poland to Argentina) he felt absolutely boat-less and aborted after this evening sailing. When we came back some days later we realized that meanwhile he had bought a used 420 class sailing dinghy. Firstly he wanted to build a proa, but during sailing on Mata Pjoa he realized, that proa is rather two person boat.

Day 2 - Wednesday 9th July 2014

Wind NE, in afternoon E-NE 3-4B, gusts 5B (more precisely in the morning 2B, from 11:00 3-4B, from 13:00 4-5B) Next days we had even more wind.

After packing our camp we had a discussion on where to go next. Weather forecast was indicating rather strong wind from the East. It meant that sailing to East on the sea, along the seashore, would be difficult, because of the waves which would appear soon, without a doubt. Going against a seaway with three boats of different length and construction would be disturbing, cause differences in speed.

We could go with the wind to the Zatoka Gdańska Gulf, but the place during holidays is very crowded. A lot of loud disco music and motorboats – not even close to our taste…

Third solution looked a little crazy – go by the rivers against the wind to the Zalew Wiślany – a big lagoon on the East. We decided to choose the third option, although none of us used the proa on the river. OK – I did it once motoring Gary`s Waapa some years ago on the Bug River, but this time none of the boat had motor. Fortunately every one of us had a paddle.

We started our journey at midday, when the wind was really fresh or even stiff. Very soon we realized what Leszek said to us day before – a proa needs two pair of hands. I had to leave Mata Pjoa, where I was in the role of photo and notes taker and needed to join Paweł on Basso. Lucky me! Because for me the play and big time had started, for the readers of that story the opportunity to see pictures had ended. Anyhow – thank you strong wind!

Firstly we were not going straight against the wind and Martwa Wisła River is very wide. Sailing was quite interesting and we had the chance to learn how to prevent a capsize on Basso. We passed the pontoon bridge, having to wait a little for opening, which was too low even for a proa to pass beneath. After passing the bridge we started to paddle. It was very difficult to paddle against the wind.

After some time paddling Basso, Paweł and I had to stop, Basso was very difficult to operate again. Our first thought was right – ama was full of water again. Fortunately, by chance, we found a spot where fishermen were sometimes present. In the trash they left we found some empty plastic bottles. We packed the ama with as many plastic bottles as we could find and continued sailing.

We managed to come to a flood gate/canal lock. Shock and awe among passers-by as three proas want to travel the mouth of the Wisła River in a rather stiff wind. But OK – you want it – you will get it, please give us only 14 zlotys for every boat as a passing fee. We passed through the lock and came to the Wisła River. It is a very big river of the estuary, but this time, no paddling was required! Big, short waves (big for the river), they are coming from the sea. The wind was marvelous – very strong but not fully downwind. Being aboard the smallest proa, I felt absolutely safe and relaxed. For the two other proas – Mata Pjoa and Lily`Uokalani, sailing in Wisła was a peace of cake. For us in Basso it was also very tasty, but a rather well done steak, not a cake.

Soon enough, we saw the flood gates to the Szkarpawa River, joining Wisła with Zalew Wiślany Lagoon. After a short stop to bail water out of Basso’s ama (again full) we took our paddles and entered the gates. Passing through this 19th century construction was very interesting. The rule is the operator of the gates opens only one door for smaller vessels. We had to be rather careful, because our craft were obviously beamier than the average yacht. Our free space left was 10 inches on each side.

We entered Szkarpawa River, a small but very beautiful river with very clean water. Again we had to paddle against the strong wind, which was, I dare to say, not very comfortable. Fortunately we quickly found a very nice spot for camping, where the Kleszczewski family ran a little business, renting kayaks and some other boats in Żuławki village. They were so friendly we could hardly believe such hospitality. We erected our tents on their lawn with a fireplace and the shop was only half kilometer away. It’s obviously not true that we bought out all “Amber” beer in the shop, and took only the cold ones. Nor is it true is that I was eaten to the naked bones by mosquitoes, I survived just to write this story.

Paweł was seriously considering to end his raid at this camp, because of the sinking ama, but after some rest he decided to fix an issue and go with us. First attempt was with chewing gum. The second was better, with silicone. And he put two empty plastic bottles to the ama, just in case.

Day 3 - 10th of July 2014

After swimming in the river, eating breakfast, and visiting the historical house of the Maronites from 18th Century which the Kleszczewski Family is renovating at significant personal expense, we were on the river again. Against the strong wind again, so again, paddling.

We tried different configurations – first, three persons paddling on the biggest Mata Pjoa, two on Lily`Uokalani, one on Basso. Not a good idea, Basso was definitely too slow for the convoy.

Secondly we tried to tug Basso – 3 persons on Mata Pjoa, on Basso one man. A very bad idea, especially on the river. Every turn of Basso meant a stopping of Mata Pjoa. Deep ”“V” vaka is a powerful break if not following exactly in line first proa.

So finally we changed the configuration of the convoy back to the original – for every proa two persons. And during all this paddling Mateusz proved again to be the strongest paddler in our group.

Fortunately it was not too far to get to the turn of the river where the wind was not directed strictly against us. We started to sail to windward. Soon we realized that in our boats, without rudders and boards, we can use the whole width of the river, even going a little bit to the seagrass, not talking about kelp, when we could shunt.
Sailing on the river is a great training. You don’t want to lose ground because you know that the ultimate penalty is paddling again.

In Basso, the canoe was less comfortable for paddling (there is no cockpit, vaka is totally decked). Paweł and I decided not to paddle any more, even if the wing would come directly against us. Soon we were surprised that we could do it on the narrow river. the shunting proa with a crabclaw sail is a surprising boat.

Basso sailing against the wind was a little bit slower than other two boats paddling, but not slower dramatically. And for sure we had more fun. And less physical effort invested.

There were no people on the Szkarpawa River, only some kayaks, three motor yachts and one, ridiculously big power boat or rather a ferry. When she passed we had to escape to the sea-grass and wait until the river stopped moving. For all of us, it was impossible to imagine ourselves aboard that big boat.

We came to the bridge, and stopped for a while to find a restaurant for a dinner at last. The only restaurant for all the trip. We didn’t expect that we were going to such a wild part of Poland.

After a rather late dinner, we decided to set sail to avoid sleeping by the road traffic. The river was empty. The river banks were devoid of beach, full of only grass and trees. The twilight was coming. The first and only possible place to stop was in Tujsk, where we were allowed to camp at one farm by the river. It was a little bit embarrassing for us when the owner would not accept any money as a camping fee or reward. Erika had a nice chat with the lady owner of the property about gardening.

Day 4 - Friday, 11th July 2014

We started very early. Before 9AM we were in the canoes. Looking at the weather forecast, strong (4-5-6B ENE) wind, we had to change our plan again. The original idea to go to Zalew Wiślany Lagoon seemed not so good this day, because against the waves Basso would be slower than rest of the fleet. Decision was then to go with the wind, by the River Nogat to the medieval city Malbork. It meant a greater distance. So we sailed a little bit. Than stopped for breakfast on the proas. The weather was very nice, but the wind was strong and growing quickly.

In the strong wind, when we finally came to the corner of Zalew Wislany Lagoon, we got an important proa sailing lesson. We tried to change course and to turn to Nogat River. And: even if you KNOW what to do, when the wind is strong, and you suddenly get a very strong gust (even 6B I think), you start to forget what you should do.

We wanted to turn and change our course to sail offwind. We did it all – mast at the proper position, sail reduced by brailing lines, sheet taken, paddle operating on the proper side of vaka – and yet, we only achieved a very small change of direction of proa. At the last minute before sailing straight into the Zalew Wiślany Lagoon – illumination! Weight distribution! I just changed my sitting place and Basso immediately turned. In wind 4B my reactions were more or less automatic. In the gust 6B I was mesmerized. It was a very important lesson. And such a lesson must be learned by yourself. Because when sailing with our Resident Proa Guru Janusz Ostrowski, or with our Visiting Proa Guru Reto Brehm, everything is so smooth, that you start to think that sailing a deep ”“V” proa with a big crabclaw sail is ridiculously easy. It is not, it needs constant awareness and fast reactions.

Sailing Nogat River was a different experience. Sailing mostly downwind, when the wind is changing all the time as the river turns or you have big trees on the banks, you also need to be careful. Once we started to sail too fast and too close to the wind on Basso, we got backwinded. But this time our reactions were very fast, so we managed get her back to the right course. Another time we were taken by the strong gust to the sea-grass, also nothing worth mentioning if you are on shunting proa.

Eventually, some miles before Malbork, the ama of Basso was full of water again, and the buoyancy of empty bottles was obviously not sufficient. Paweł and myself were really tired, so the mistakes and errors were unavoidable and could become very serious. The only mature decision was to stop and end Basso’s journey.
Janusz had an idea to make a catamaran or tri from two proas (his big Mata Pjoa and smaller Basso), but geometrical problems occurred and the idea was rejected.

We hoisted the hull-vaka and outrigger-ama and all other parts of Basso up 10 meters to the road by the river bank. Paweł left his boat in the bushes and came to Gdańsk to get his car. That is another big asset of having a small proa – you can finish your trip almost everywhere.

The two proas – Mata Pjoa and Lili`Uokalani continued the raid. Fortunately Reto and Erika on Lili passed by Mata Pjoa, so they arrived first to the gates on the Nogat before 6PM, when it was closing for the day. Erika asked the two ladies who were in charge to wait 20 minutes for next proa. We were very surprised that Erika was successful, because she do not speak Polish and the ladies did not speak either German nor English. So she convinced them in German, thanks to her charm.

We passed through the gate. I was keeping the boat in the basin with my hands on the ladder. I remember a rather confused frog looking at me very suspiciously. The ladies in charge of the gates were also looking very carefully at the proas, certainly the first ones on Nogat River.

We traveled the rest of the Nogat River very comfortably, sailing all the time with only two or three shunts. by the evening we came to the gates in Malbork, of course too late to find someone there to negotiate the opening. We made a provisional camp, found some hotdogs at a nearby gas station and went to sleep.

Day 5 - Saturday, 12th July 2014

On Saturday the weather changed. Heavy rain and no wind… We resigned from packing the proas again and paddling to the camp ground in the center of the city of Malbork. Instead we came to the city, caught the train to Gdańsk, got our cars, came back, packed and that was the end of the raid.

And here I am, sitting and writing and trying to find some free time to go proa sailing again. What have we learned from our raid?

1. Proas need two persons to sail. Of course in the light wind you can do it alone. But better to have two persons aboard
.
2. For sailing in the sea it is better to have minimum 7 meters vaka. Well, the exception is when your name is Reto Brehm. We knew it before, just confirmation.
3. The deep ”“V” proa and crabclaw sail are surprisingly good in sailing on the river, even upwind.
4. Sailing on the river is not easy. The sentence ”“on the river the wind is always full down or straight up the river” is not true. The truth is that the wind likes to change direction on the river.
5. Paddling against a strong wind we do not like. Paddling without the wind is OK.
6. Outrigger-ama full of water dramatically changes sailing properties. Yet sailing with the ama full of water is still possible (proven), but rather challenging and uncomfortable.
7. Sailing the proa with crabclaw sail gives more fun than on any other sailing boat. the proa is extremely versatile. I cannot imagine going to sea without an escort on any 5 meters unballasted dinghy in the wind 4-5B.
8. If you want to camp in remote areas, like Nogat River, it would be good to have machete to cut grass.
9. Holt hatches are unsatisfactory when mounted on a flexible working surface. Sinking and difficult to close or open (we knew it before, confirmed again). And obviously one shouldn’t keep them constantly under water.

More photos of the raid here.

— Grzegorz Korczynski for Proa File 07/2014

John Dalziel gives a summary of his series of experiments on his proa C. L. Brock with a Bolger-type rig. Note: Frequent references are made to Philip C. Bolger’s proa "cartoon", which first appeared in an issue of the late Small Boat Journal, and was later published in Boats with an Open Mind; International Marine, 1994.

The Bolger proa rig echos the unique symmetry of the proa: the airflow reverses direction during a shunt, just like the water flow on the hull. The rig has many powerful advantages that have led to a 50-year series of attempts to develop it into a useful sailboat rig. It is a wonderful example of the maxim: "In theory, theory equals practice. In practice, it doesn’t." Though the rig has become known in proa circles as "The Bolger Rig" due to the fact that it was Bolger’s proa cartoon that became widely known, the rig in fact was invented in the 1960’s by members of the Amateur Yacht Research Society (AYRS) who thought so highly of its potential to christen it the "AYRS Sail".

Great Potential of the Bolger Rig

The very high potential is obvious at a glance:

• With the mast out of the way, airflow to the sail is smooth.
• Permanently curved battens give ironclad control over foil shape, allowing precise tuning and twist control.
• The elliptical shape provides optimum span loading, meaning that unlike conventional rigs the top third of the sail can operate at full power.
• The balanced tack provides low sheeting loads and excellent sail shape off-wind.
• The sharp leading edge provides near-perfect flow separation and in combination with the curved battens grants unheard-of ghosting ability.
• Reefing is quick and well-controlled.
• Lift/drag ratio is exceptional, about the same as a full-battened wing-mast.
• It has no directional weaknesses, performing excellently when beating, reaching, and running.
• In theory, shunting is dead simple; harden the sheet, release the tack; the old sheet becomes the new tack, the old tack the new sheet.

The Downside

Collapse in the upper third of the sail is caused by the actual line of rotation (red dotted line) being well aft of the theoretical line (blue). This puts the line of rotation aft of the lift line, and the upper third of the sail becomes over-balanced. »

Unfortunately, during the entire developmental history of this rig, nobody has ever fully tapped its potential, for along with the above advantages there come a host of disadvantages, and the fact is that these relate directly to the concept of the rig.

Though the sharp leading edge provides the best L/D ratio, it is also extremely sensitive to angle of attack: Theoretical best angle for highest L/D on this sort of single-surface sail is all the way down at 4-5 degrees. But at such shallow angles, the circulation bubble on the windward (windward is not a typo) side of the foil, just behind the leading edge, would grow enough to distort the sailcloth between the battens, reducing drive. In addition, the lowered pressure on the windward side of the leading edge leads to an early and severe collapse of the sail to windward. 6-7 degrees was as close as it was possible to go. But note that there is only a one or two degree difference here! In real-world conditions, it is impossible to control the sail well enough to keep it on that knife-edge, and the sail routinely "bluffs," or collapses to windward.

The top of the sail can become over-balanced: When not under load, the sail pivots neatly along a line between the halyard and the tack. But once the sheet is hardened, this line moves aft to approximately mid-chord, at least for the top third of the sail. Now the lift line is ahead of the pivot line, and when the boat is hard on the wind the top third can to pivot to windward in a manner similar to but not as drastic as a gybe on a catboat. This further reduces the sailor’s control over the rig, and is extremely annoying to boot!

Stresses through the sailcloth are high: This rig lends itself better to Mylar-Kevlar sails than to Spectra or Dacron, as the latter two show substantial amounts of creep and the distortion will reduce sail efficiency rather quickly.

As you would suspect, rigging loads and mast compression are high as well. My 170 sq.ft. sail could put an 8" bow in a solid 3" diameter Douglas Fir mast in as little as 10 knots of wind. Both running and standing rigging must be very low-stretch steel or Kevlar. Sail efficiency and control both depend on keeping things well tensioned.

Shunting

Shunting the Bolger is a mixed bag. In light winds the sail performs as advertised, changing ends with ease. But in moderate or higher winds it is dangerous to shunt in this manner for several reasons:

1. Since the sail shunts power-on the proa will stop and restart with tremendous acceleration, potentially injuring the crew or knocking someone overboard.
2. There is simply not enough time during this power-on process to accomplish all the tasks needed to reverse the boat, so one is left with finishing up the shunting process while the boat is screaming along at a mad rate.
3. During the power-on shunt, the sail swaps ends with enough force to place damaging impact loads on the rigging and fittings.
4. If the wind catches the sail parallel to the hull, the boat can be knocked down.

In order to shunt the rig in higher winds, it is necessary to drop the sail, shuttle the boom by hand, then re-raise the sail and tension the luff. This is not as much of a handful as it first sounds, since the sail is fairly light, but both standing and running rigging must be designed with this task in mind.

Heaving to, or simply slacking the sheet, can cause unexpected grief; the permanently curved battens mean that the sail, when at zero drive, is actually balancing a "negative" force (towards the nominally windward side of the sail) located just behind the leading edge against a "positive" force farther back on the sail chord. The effect is that at zero drive there is a strong and consistent force rotating the boat to windward!

This is more apparent when the sail has been moved forwards in the Oceanic arrangement. In the case of heaving to, this means that the boat will quickly rotate into a backwind. In the matter of slacking the sheet for a gust, the boat will attempt to turn into the wind unless strong windward helm is applied. Neither effect lends itself to a healthy, confident attitude on the part of the sailor.

There is one final problem with the Bolger, and it relates to having the sheet and tack simultaneously handled during every shunt. If both lines get out of control at the same time- and this is guaranteed to happen at some point- then the sail in effect becomes a huge and unstable wing tethered from the masthead; it can - and will - fly up, turn sharply and come screaming back at the rigging and crew with tremendous force, easily enough to cause serious injury or death. This all happens so fast that there is literally no time to react once it begins.

Possible Solutions

« When a dual halyard system is used, the actual line of rotation stays forward of the lift line, and the collapse does not occur.

Some of the problems presented by the Bolger can be addressed as follows:

1: the three-point suspension of the sail, causing loss of control over the leading edge and "bluffing," is one of the chief culprits. This can be addressed by adding a short yard and turning the Bolger into a four-sided sail. The yard needs two halyard locations, one for each tack, as shown in the illustration. This unfortunately adds considerably to complexity. The alternative, leaving out the roach, works but leads to a poor sail shape of low L/D and little power.

2: I have tried a number of ways to control the luff, none entirely successful. The very best was to use a Chinese Junk-type sheeting arrangement to each of the lowest three batten ends. This stopped the bluffing completely and allowed the highest pointing angles of all arrangements I tried. This works for two reasons: the tension to the front end of the batten keeps it from diving significantly to windward as the angle of attack decreases, and the vertical line of rotation is moved forwards. The downside is that the sail is no longer balanced, and therefore twist control is much hampered and the off-wind shape of the sail is effectively ruined. Tacking also takes much longer due to the additional length of line that has to be handled. The battens tied into must also be heavier, and are more apt to break.

Unsolved Problems

1. I have yet to come up with a solution to the problem of the sail spinning the boat into a backwind when at zero drive, and I suspect that the only real solution is to invent some way of immediately straightening the battens when the sheet is released. Alternatively it is possible to use a double surface airfoil, which would not show the same sort of action. It may be worth looking into. Spoiler flaps have also been suggested, but not tried; these may prove to be the simplest possibility.

2. Some solution must be found to the problem of both sheets getting out of hand at the same time, or else the rig is simply too dangerous to use. We have tried a couple of schemes without success:

• using one centrally located sheet and two dedicated tacks allowed the boom to be controlled sufficiently, however we had a knockdown when the unemployed (aft) tack got tangled and wouldn’t allow the sail to be eased.
• We also tried a tether to mid-boom, but if the tether was long enough to allow the sail full range of normal movement it was also long enough to let the boom thrash wildly.

Rigging Details

Details of sail showing approximate positions of battens, reef cringles and straps, lazyjacks (red), parrels (blue). »

For the benefit of those who would like to experiment with this sail, here are a few of the gory details. The sail size in question is 125-175 square feet (12 to 17 square meters). It is possible to use the sail at a stationary point at the middle of the vessel, as is shown on Bolger’s cartoon, or to move it forwards on each shunt in the Oceanic manner. There are advantages and disadvantages to each scheme.

Sail and Running Rigging

Halyard: Should be double if handed or single if led to a winch. It is necessary to have some leverage to tighten the luff after raising the sail.

Parrels and lazyjacks/ topping lift: Some sort of topping lift is necessary, or the boom will come crashing to deck every time the sail is lowered. And some sort of lazyjack is necessary or the sail will be blown into the water as it comes down. My solution: run two or four hard-twisted (for longevity) 1/8" (3mm) lines from a masthead deadeye or block to spots on the boom as shown in the drawing. On the windward side of the sail, sew parrels of the same cordage so that the sail can slide up and down under control of the lazyjacks. Make sure the parrels are long enough to compensate for the widening between the lazyjacks as the sail is lowered. The top panel of the sail does not need to be controlled.

Battens should be made straight and sprung into the appropriate curvature with 50-100# Dacron braided fishline. Make several loops in the ends of the line so the batten curvature can be easily adjusted to three or four preset curves. The battens should not be square or round, but should be flat/rectangular to prevent them from reversing when the sail is down. Rotating them to the right direction every time you raise the sail is quite the bother. The fishline serves the added purpose of protecting the battens and sailcloth somewhat in backwinding situations.

Dispense with batten pockets, as Bolger did on his sketch. Sew loops or ties onto the windward side of the sail about every 6-9" and run the battens through these.

Batten Curves: For beating I found the most effective curvature for my typical conditions- 5-8 knots wind- to be 6% at the boom and 8% at the top batten. For a smaller sail on a heavier boat, increase to about 8 and 10. The top batten must be more deeply curved than the boom or the top of the sail will stall prematurely. For off-wind work, curvature can be increased to as high as 15-18%.

Reef points: add cringles 3-4" below each of the lower 2-3 battens at both ends of the sail; these will tie onto the boom when the sail is reefed. Add two or three loops of nylon strap- one each at the 25% chord location, another if desired at the 50% point- also slightly below the battens to tie to the bottom batten.

Boom: If you build the rig according to Bolger’s sketch, the boom will be too stiff to change the curvature by much. Simpler is to use a heavier bottom batten and a straight boom of wood or aluminum. The boom is provided with several fastening locations so the bottom batten¡s curvature can be adjusted.

It is necessary to locate the tack/sheet mounting points in between the straight boom and the bottom batten, bearing on each, in order to provide sufficient tension to the luff and to the belly of the sail. This can be done with a short wood beam lashed on to the boom and batten at the appropriate distance aft of the luff (determine by experiment). Alternately, two lengths of line making an X and knotted in the middle can be led from the ends of the boom to a point about 3/4^th the way to the other end of the bottom batten. The tack/sheet block can be lashed onto this line at the appropriate point (found by experiment again).

Sheets/tacks should be 2-1 purchase. They should NOT be a continuous line. Provide jam or cam cleats for the tack; when the wind pipes up, shunts happen fast.

When used with a stationary mast as in the Bolger cartoon: Follow Bolger’s deck mount locations for the sheets/tacks exactly. The tack (for the direction you are travelling) must be to windward of the mast base, or else the sail will overpower the rear board when the boat is being shunted. The Bolger sail is never sheeted so hard as to bring it in line with the hull, so the mast will not interfere with sheeting properly.

If the sail is moved forward using a raked mast, consistent with Polynesian practice, you have more freedom in locating the mounting pads for the deck blocks, however it is still preferable to mount them to windward if the bow allows. Make sure you have enough rudder area to keep the boat tracking straight when the sail is let out to 90 degrees on a run; the turning force is considerable.

At this point I do not recommend building the sail with only one halyard attachment, as this is guaranteed to produce sail handling problems. Supply two as shown in the sketch. The "yard" can be little more than a long sturdy headboard with two halyard attachment points located near the respective luffs.

Standing Rigging

At the masthead, the standing rigging should be fastened below the halyard blocks if the mast is to be raked, but above if the mast is stationary and the fore /aft stays will clear the edges of the sail leading-edge roach (both conditions must be met, or else the tangs should be below the halyard block). Tangs must be sturdy and able to take high impact/ shock loads. For a sail this size, 1/8" (3mm) stainless steel wire, or the Kevlar equivalent, will suffice. Use the widest staying base possible to reduce compression loads on the mast.

You will need either three stays (fore/aft plus windward) plus a backwind support strut, or four stays (the fourth is to leeward of the mast). I doubt that the two-stay system in Bolger’s sketch will suffice. I recommend three plus the backwind strut as being superior.

Mount the windward stay to a four-part tackle as far out on the outriggers as is practical; this adjusts masthead cant and also serves as a shock absorber. A lee stay, or a backwind support, should be set up with enough slack that the windward stay may be adjusted 2 feet or so.

Raking mast: Set up the fore and aft stays inside the distance between the sheet/ tack block pads. Set up to long lanyards, and run a bungee cord at right-angles to the lizard or block. This will serve as a shock absorber and also will pull the slack forestay out of the way.

Stationary mast: use lanyards to fix the backstays and tie in a bit of tension to hold the mast still. If the stays will clear the sail edges (as noted above), run them out as far on the bows as possible.

Add a tie-down between the mast heel and the step, so that if (when) the sheets get away the mast will not be forcibly pulled out of the step.

Originally published 2001. We are re-publishing some archived articles in order to present them to newer readers.

This is a nice interview of L’Hydroptere skipper Alain Thebault by CNET’s Molly Wood. L’Hydroptere is a member of a very exclusive club: “Former holders of the world sailing speed record”. Unlike most record holders, the flying hydrofoil trimaran is not limited to shallow and waveless speed traps, but is open ocean capable. Highlights include photos of Alain’s early scale models that he built as a teenager.

This post is also a test of embedding video into the new responsive framework here at Proa File. It should scale properly from desktop to tablet to phones.

The story of this rig begins in Hawaii, with Euell - “Have you ever eaten a pine tree?” - Gibbons, a half century ago. Now, thanks to a renewed interest in proas and the easy flow of information on the Internet, the rig has received some new attention, and looks to become a very good proa rig indeed.

Writer and naturalist Euell Gibbons was living in Hawaii and dining on the jungle flora and fauna in the 1950’s. He soon realized that "an island is a small body of land surrounded by the need for a boat", so he set out to build himself one. Euell had been a professional boatbuilder, so he knew something of what he was about.

Being deep in Polynesia, Euell was naturally drawn to the native outrigger canoe. He had a good knowledge of the type, and spent a considerable amount of time studying museum models and local examples. Euell built a proa, patterned more on the classic Micronesian design than a Hawaiian canoe. He departed from tradition in some ways, first by building the canoe out of plywood (a very modern, high-tech material in those days) and then by taking liberties with the classic Oceanic rig. Euell wrote:

My sail was made of parachute cloth, all re-cut and re-sewn. It was triangular in shape, with a long, light bamboo spar permanently fastened along one edge of the sail. On a lateen rig this spar is called a yard, as it is on a squaresail. A stout bamboo mast was stepped in the very center of the main hull, right on the sidewise axis of symmetry , and stayed in place with clothesline wire and turnbuckles.

The sail was hoisted up the mast by a halyard attached to the exact middle of the yard. The end of the yard that would be the forward end on the first tack was pulled down and fastened to what would be the forward deck on that tack, making the yard rise diagonally up and aft, the after end projecting behind and above the top of the comparatively short mast. The sheet, the line with which the sail is handled, was fastened to the corner of the triangle opposite the yard, and led through a block on the afterdeck. All fittings at one end of the boat were duplicated at the other end.

On a beat to windward I planned to let the temporary bow of the boat fall off the wind in the direction opposite the outrigger until the sail filled. Then I planned to trim the sail with the sheet until it was pulling its best and the boat began moving through the water at that dazzling outrigger speed that always surprises sailors of conventional craft. It was a safe rig, for whenever the outrigger left the water and the boat threatened to capsize, all I had to do was to let the sheet run and spill some wind from the sail, let the outrigger drop back into the water, and re-trim the sail to make her go her best, which was exceedingly good.

~The Beachcomber Afloat

Gary Dierking

This would most likely have been the last ever heard about Euell’s proa design, were it not for Gary Dierking. Gary happened upon his battered, twenty year old copy of The Beachcomber Afloat when he was cleaning out the attic last year.

Gary had been building and designing outrigger canoes for years, and had just completed Tarawa, his 16’ strip-planked proa. Gary thought that the rig described by Gibbons had some merit, and after some discussion over the Internet with other proanauts, he soon built a modified version out of bamboo and polytarp.

Gary’s rig was a bit different than Euell’s. Instead of mounting the yard on a fixed, vertical mast, he employed a canting, Micronesian style mast. This allowed the sail’s CE to shift forward during a shunt, and to echo the position of the crab claw. Now the rig would balance with the Center of Lateral Resistance of the hull, for straight tracking and easy steering. Gary also added a sprit boom, and sheeted to that. The boom allowed the rig to be set up and tensioned much like a windsurfer rig, with considerable bend in the yard. Gary’s report after his first sail:

After a couple of days of hard work the next generation Gibbons rig has had its first flight. It combines Euell Gibbons’ method of tilting the yard end to end with windsurfer sail technology. All I can think to say right now is "WOW"! There are still small annoying glitches to work out but I will definitely be devoting most of my efforts to developing this rig.

I’ve been sailing the last few weeks with a classic oceanic lateen rig to establish a performance benchmark. The new sail is roughly the same area but with a higher center of effort. The evening was pleasant with a 5-10 knot wind. As I pushed off the beach into the wind the difference was apparent immediately. It felt like I had almost double the power I had before. I suspect it’s the kind of power that John experienced with the AYRS/Bolger rig.

The good news is that it’s controllable. The higher center of effort and increased thrust depresses the bow a bit and I found myself sitting farther aft than with the old rig. There’s plenty of reserve buoyancy with the hull though and it’s not a problem. It seemed that I was closely matching windspeed on all but close-hauled courses. The ama flew for a few seconds now and then but it seems to be a non event - easily controllable. The canoe has a lot of power now and I’m sure I’ll end up in the water eventually, but it’ll be worth it.

Since the first sail, Gary’s enthusiasm for the Gibbons rig has only grown. It keeps the basic configuration of the Oceanic rig, so the boat balances and steers as well as a traditional canoe. However, the rig is more efficient to windward, and obviously very powerful. It’s other advantage over the traditional crab claw is how easy it is to shunt:

• Release mainsheet. As the boat glides to a halt…
• Release the tip of the yard from the bow by uncleating the endless line that controls the tilt of the yard.
• Then haul on the line until the other end of the yard reaches the new bow (Halfway through the maneuver it looks as though there is a small hang glider tethered to the mast head).
• Sheet in and go!

Shunting the Gibbons Rig

Note that the sailor need not go to the ends of the canoe to shunt, as is the case with the traditional rig, and does not guide the heel of the yard from one end of the canoe to the other.

The Gibbons rig probably THE rig for small proas. Once fully developed, it should be at least as efficient as a windsurfer sail, which is currently the best single-surface sail in the world. It has an advantage over the windsurfer however, in that it need not reverse its sail curvature for each tack. This may mean that the sail could be even better than the windsurfer, and more wing-like.

Why only small proas? Because currently, the Gibbons rig is not reef-able. Like a modern windsurfer rig, it is a tightly tensioned membrane, and does not quickly reef or furl. Until reefing (or some other way of reducing power) is figured out, the rig is suitable only for protected waters, and small boats.

Rigging Details

Below is Gary’s account of how he built the sail and spars.

The Yard

To make the 6 meter yard I joined two 3 meter sections of 50mm (2") bamboo with a dowel in the center and then wrapped it with fiberglass tape and epoxy. I also glued in smaller dowels at the small ends.

The Luff Curve: A 3 meter piece of timber was used as a temporary boom and one end was lashed to the midpoint of the yard. I tied a piece of line to one end of the yard, then led it through a hole in the outer end of the boom and then to the other end of the yard. I then pulled one end of the line to bend the yard to the amount of curve that I thought reasonable. This is very much like setting up a windsurfer rig although bamboo isn’t as stiff as a windsurfer mast. I then traced the outline onto the floor with a pencil. I added some roach area where there will be a small batten at each end. The hardest decision is determining the amount of luff curve. I used the time honored method of "that looks about right". I bulged the luff curve out another 4" (100mm) at the midpoint and tapered it to the ends.

The Sail

For fabric I’ve got the heavier grade of polytarp in a tan color. It comes in a 6’ (1.8 meter) width roll so it requires very few seams. I oriented the fibers (warp) along the two leaches with a miter seam along the boom line. When the sail is tensioned, the leaches will be under the greatest stress. I cut the panels to the shape drawn on the floor and glued the seams with contact cement (Weldwood or Ados). The luff has a sock to hold the spar, also glued on. The three corners of the sail get extra layers and there are two batten pockets. Then my faithful assistant ran all the seams through the sewing machine. The gluing is really just to hold everything exactly right while it’s being sewn.

The Boom

The actual boom needs to be a smooth tube so I used aluminum for that. The boom is permanently fixed to the top of the mast with a gooseneck or in my case with polyester lashings. The boom is just slightly shorter than the mast so it can clear everything at deck level. I wrapped a 1 ft section of the boom with waxed paper and then wrapped that with many layers of fiberglass. This produced a sliding collar to which the midpoint of the yard will be lashed. To set the sail, the clew is permanently lashed to the bottom of the hanging boom. The halyard is attached to the sliding collar and when the yard is hoisted it tensions the sail. The "outhaul tension" is controlled with halyard tension. The greater the halyard tension, the flatter the sail.

Gary Dierking’s website: Outrigger Sailing Canoes

Originally published 2001. We are re-publishing some archived articles in order to present them to newer readers.

This is an interesting time capsule - a 1955 Manu Kai class 20’ catamaran, designed and built by the legendary Woody Brown. According to the seller, the original owner has passed away. He special ordered the boat direct from Honolulu and it was made specially for him. The catamaran has been stored inside and has not been used for years. From the included paperwork:

Manu Kai Catamarans are built to the highest constructions standards by S. Funai Boat Shop and are exceedingly strong, yet light.  Every square inch of hulls and decks are fiber glassed with multiple layers at all stress points and joints.  They come complete with Dacron sails and bronze heavily chromed hardware and fittings.

The boat shows the classic design details of an early Hawaiian beach cat, including deep asymmetrical hulls, canoe stern and integrated rudder. The mast appears to be stayed by spars in an A-frame configuration, instead of wire stays. Find it here on eBay in Green Bay, Wisconsin with a $3000 opening bid.

The sloop is the rig of choice on 90% of all modern sailboats. Why not on proas as well? Here’s why.

Rigging a proa as a sloop is a true blending of East and West. The proa is considered the pinnacle of Pacific canoe design, and the sloop is often considered the finest invention of Western "yachting". Brilliant in their own context, what happens when we creatively recombine their DNA?

First consider the sloop. Beautiful, efficient, and handy, the sloop has been the darling of the yachting world for going on one hundred years. Refined over the years, and lavished with the latest hi-tech materials, the rig is versatile enough to please all-out racers and laid-back cruisers. When set up with a self-tending jib, the rig is simplicity itself to tack, needing only a gentle hand on the tiller to guide the boat through stays. When rigged as a racer, there are enough sails to change, winches to grind and strings to tweak to keep a large crew very busy. The rig works for small day sailors all the way up to 100’ mega-yachts.

Now consider the proa. The ultimate in "less is more", a proa is the longest, leanest, lightest sailboat you can get out of a given pile of materials. It is well balanced, needs no rudders or deep keel, is easily beached, seaworthy, very fast, and elegantly simple in construction.

Combining the two should give us the ultimate sailboat, right? Unfortunately, it’s not so easy.

Shunting

The sloop, so easy to tack, is tedious to shunt. The most obvious problem is that the jib must be moved from one bow to the other. This is done by either A) lowering one jib, and then raising another one at the new bow, or B) rolling up a roller-furling genoa, and unrolling another at the new bow. Either option slows down the shunting process, not to mention the waste and expense of requiring two jibs, but using only one at a time.

Besides handling the jibs, the main must also be weather-cocked around almost 180 degrees for every shunt. For a tacking boat, the mainsheet needs very little adjustment from tack to tack, and is often a multi-part purchase to ease the strain of trimming. If you use the same purchase on a proa mainsheet, then you have 3,4, even 6 times as much line to pull when it is time to haul the main around to point the other way. This again is very slow, though a great workout. The other option - no purchase, is much faster to shunt, but then you need a big winch to trim the main.

The sloop is really no slower to shunt than a traditional Oceanic sprit (Crab Claw), however if compared to other modern rigs that have been optimized for shunting, such as the balestron, Gibbons, or schooner, it is much slower—especially single-handed.

Hull/Rig Balance

A traditional proa is well balanced with its traditional rig, meaning that it needs no rudders to steer a straight course, or to shunt. The rig CE is forward of center, which balances with the hull’s forward CLR. Not so the sloop. The sloop has its CE AFT of center, so it cannot balance well with just the hull, and requires daggerboards, rudders, or some other way to shift the CLR aft. (The cleverest way I have seen this done is on a small proa that had no rocker in its keel - dead flat. The skipper simply shifted his weight all the way aft, which sank the stern and raised the bow, thus moving the CLR aft!) This problem can be somewhat ameliorated by using a large genoa jib that will shift the CE forward, but then you have an even bigger sail to deal with for every shunt, so it’s not the perfect solution.

Weather-Cocking During Shunting

A proa comes to a complete stop during every shunt, a position that renders rudders or boards next to useless. As the proa attempts to gather way again in the opposite direction, the fore/aft position of the sail CE is important. A traditional canoe has the CE forward, so as the canoe is powered back up, it wants to fall off, which keeps the sails full, and it easily picks up speed again on the new tack. On the other hand, if a proa has the CE aft, then the force of the sail will try to spin the proa into the wind, where it may get caught in irons or caught aback. This problem is most apparent when a sloop shunts using only its mainsail (Often the case, given the handling hassle of the jibs).

Hulls with little lateral resistance (round bilged sections) are most susceptible to weather-cocking. Hulls with some "V" in them will resist rotating. Another strategy is to use very large dagger-rudders, and to keep the forward board all the way down until the boat has gathered way on the new tack.

Interestingly, an aft CE works much better on the Atlantic proa configuration, since the leeward ama tends to drag the canoe off the wind, not into it like the Pacific proa.

High Aspect-Ratio

Sloops are lofty rigs. Sailboat designers know that tall sloops are more efficient than shorter sloops of the same area, due to the reduction in induced drag that high aspect-ratio brings. Compared to a traditional crab claw, a sloop’s center of effort can be twice as high! The sloop will create twice as much overturning force as the crab claw, if both are creating the same amount of power. Proas by nature have less righting moment than other multihulls, so rigs should be moderate in height. Never forget that a proa is just a big canoe.

Rigging Loads

Modern sloops are well known to require serious headstay tension. This leads to big mast compression loads, which leads to many spreaders, which leads to rigging complexity and finally, serious expense. Modern sloop rigged yachts have hulls that are properly reinforced for the kinds of strains that are applied by the rig. A proa designed for a sloop rig must also be properly designed to withstand the rigging loads.

Off-Wind Sails

Sloops are great performers upwind—not so hot on leeward courses. All sloops that want to make good progress off the wind carry additional sails to augment the basic windward rig. headsails are problematic on proas, since they must be shunted. Using rigs that do not require headsails, such as balestrons, schooners, and crab-claws, can make sail handling and sail inventory much simpler.

The Upside

So after all that, are there any good reasons to rig a proa as a sloop? Certainly.

• Performance. Sloops are fast. 120 years of yacht racing evolution hasn’t been for nothing. No matter how much promise an experimental proa rig may have, it is highly unlikely that it will beat a sloop right out of the box, if ever.
• Familiarity - In the West we understand the sloop. We have sailmakers that can cut a good set of sails, the first time. We have riggers that will know what sort of loads to expect, masts designed to handle the compression, and all manner of hardware available off-the-shelf to choose from. We have many thousands of previous sloops upon which to base our new sloop on. Deviating from the sloop means leaving all that behind.

Daunting as that may be, I firmly believe it is the best way forward. Fortunately, proa builders are the adventurous sort, and we have had some really great innovations lately, outlined in the other sections of the site.

Originally published 2001. We are re-publishing some archived articles in order to present them to newer readers.

A report from Frédéric Monsonnec on the Golden Oldies Multihulls meet up in Port Camargue, France, May 29-June1, 2014. ~Editor

No centerboard, no rudder!

Every year, the Golden Oldies Multihulls association  organizes events in the Mediterranean (See Golden Oldies Trophy 2103 for report on the Sète meeting in 2013) and on the Atlantic coast. During these meetings, passionate fans of old racing multihulls (25 years minimum), gather to sail - and to “rewrite the history” of these old veterans. This year, for the pleasure of the members and the spectators, the show was not only on the sea with Pat’s, VSD, Tahiti Douche, Aile Bleue, etc., but also in the Mediterranean town of Port Camargue with the smaller “Golden Oldies”.

In Port Camargue the small boats were represented by:

• Pelican, a Tornado built in 1975 with a plywood deck. Property of Emmanuel Pironneau
• Catalina, a catamaran designed in 1962 by André Allegre (Pen Duick IV, Cap 33…) and who had not sailed since probably 40 years before this event!
• A Jukung from Bali, an canoe outrigger trimaran designed by Christian Campi and skippered by Don Carslaw and his son Sean
• A Hawaiian canoe also designed by C. Campi
• Lakana, a proa from Madagascar, built by Stuart Rogerson, the owner and rescuer of VSD. Stuart came from Ibiza with Lakana on the deck of VSD
• A Patin a Vela, an extraordinary class of Spanish catamarans, fruit of the work of Luis and Emilio Monge in 1925/26

Two of these boats have no rudder: the Patin and Lakana. The Hawaiian canoe uses an oar and the Balinese outrigger has a deported rudder. Lakana is steered only by changing the position of the center of gravity and therefore the center of drift. For the Patin, the mainsheet and the rake of the mast is also adjusted.

Patin a vela

The Patin a vela is a boat for one man or woman but the volume is sufficient for a second person. It is the oldest sport catamaran class in the world! To tack, the “helmsman”, moves forward on the windward hull, leans his body on the mast and against the sail. The nose of the boat sinks and the boat turns into the wind. This class is especially popular in Spain, but Patins also race in Belgium, Argentina, France. The Patin was born on the coast of Barcelona during the last part of the nineteenth century. Initially it had less beam than today, and was powered with a long oar. In 1871 a race took place in this configuration in the port of Barcelona. So it was an ancestor of the SUP. Created by carpenters without a nautical knowledge, they devised a boat capable of launching through the surf. A boat with two hulls for stability and fine bows to get through the waves but without a rudder or board for departures and beach arrivals. In 1926, members of the swimming club of Barcelona team put a sail on the structure to facilitate their return to the beach. The first large sailing regatta was in 1932.

- Length: 18.4 ft - 5.60 m
- Width: 1.60 m
- Weight: 216 lbs - 98 kg
- Sail area: 135.6 sq ft – 12.60 m²

VIDEO
Building of a Patin a vela

Lakana

Lakana is an outrigger canoe inspired by the native craft of Madagascar. She’s a two-seater built in plywood and epoxy. It can be rigged with either one or two outrigger floats. The history of Madagascar begins between 200 BC and 500 AD when seafarers on outrigger canoes arrived from south East Asia, from Borneo or the South of Celebes and probably associated with settlers from the African coast. Christian Campi drew LAKANA inspired by the Vezo outriggers. The Vezos are a people who in the past occupied the entire west coast of the big Island. They are one of the last nomadic tribes of Madagascar. When they spend time away from their village, they make a temporary camp, using the square sail as a tent. Their canoes are steered with a paddle, but on this kind of boat the weight of the crew can have a strong effect on the underwater profile, and thus the position of lateral resistance. The placement of weight and sail trim, combined with the steering device, all contribute to the steering by the crew. Christian simplified the rectangular shape of the sail by using a sprit and to be able to steer Lakana single-handed. When Stuart Rogerson built the first model, he discovered she could be steered without a paddle at all! It was obvious for Stuart because in the past there had a school of Patin a vela in Ibiza. Christian went to Ibiza to discover this unsuspected feature. He was pleasantly surprised, and it was a pure coincidence that Lakana was so well balanced.

- Length: 16 ft – 4.90 m
- Weight: 100 lbs - 45 kg
- Sail area: 59.2 sq ft – 5.5 m²

Sailing With With No Rudder

After a sail on the Tornado, and the loss of one rudder, I tried the Hawaiian outrigger… and we broke a small part of the rigging! Difficult with such a record to obtain a new command! But I did not take into account the kindness of the “clan” Rogerson. Marina said to me: “You can take Lakana out if you want. Steering is very simple: to gybe, you move back and to tack that’s the inverse… You will find a bucket inside if you capsize…” After a long tack of approximately 30m, I capsized! That seems to be normal for the first sail. When Stuart sailed Lakota for the first time, he capsized after 3 meters with his mobile phone and his passport in the pocket! After a little bath in the harbor, and after using my friend the bucket, Lakana was no longer a submarine but a boat again. Now, if I do not want to lose my dignity, I have to use my brain and control my body! I’m glad that my friends are at sea (no members of GOM in the spectator fleet) and the wind is not too strong. After 10 minutes, it was like riding a bicycle, a great pleasure, better than with a rudder! The control mode is instinctive. If I didn’t already have two little hydrofoil prototypes (who haven’t seen the color of the water for several years), I would order some plans from Christian Campi! I did not find the time to sail with the “King of the Patin”, Tony Blanco Casana, that will remain for a next gathering.

If you get the chance to test sail this type of boat, make no hesitation, it is like a new discipline!

~ Fred Monsonnec for Proa File 08/2014

VIDEO
Lakana and Patin a vela Golden Oldies Trophy 2014

The Wharram Tiki 26 is a true micro-multihull cruiser. It features the now classic Wharram attributes of plywood/epoxy construction, deep V hull, no keels or boards, lashed beams, open and high bridge deck, and the Wharram “wing sail” sloop rig. The design is probably the most popular of all Wharram’s boats, and several examples have crossed oceans in safety. Find this one here on Craigslist in Deer Harbor, WA, for $6000. If the boat checks out, this could be a steal of a deal.

This example of the lovely Tiki 26 was hand-built in Canada in 2003 and brought to the US by a previous owner. Her Jones Act Waiver paperwork has been approved, and she is legal to operate as an uninspected passenger vessel (6-pack) in the US. She will also continue to be a legal recreational vessel. She was last hauled and surveyed in September of 2012. She includes a 6hp extra-long shaft Tohatsu outboard.

As part of a government liquidation, the U.S. Department of Defense is auctioning off a 50-foot sailboat to the highest bidder.

But this vessel isn’t what you’d expect from a former Navy craft. The three-hulled, high-performance Contour 50 boat, which is now in Harbor Island, was used for “experimental training and recreational purposes,” according to Liquidity Services, Inc.

Built in the mid 2000s, the craft has undergone some modifications but still has its wing sail, rigging and mast assembly, as well as an inboard 40-horsepower engine. Find it here at govliquidation.com with a current bid of $8200. Bidding ends on Aug. 22.

Source: nbcsandiego.com

Here ye, here ye! The Proa File Forums will be closing down at the end of August.

There are several reasons, but the most pressing is your editor’s time constraints. The forum is in a constant state of need and repair. I use the forum package from Expression Engine, which is the CMS I use for the rest of the site. It is buggy, outdated, not responsive with phones or tablets, and is apparently no longer being updated. This is their response to a letter I sent asking them if an upgrade could be expected in the near future:

I’m sorry to hear about your troubles using the Discussion forum package. We agree the Discussion forum does need an update. We typically only discuss plans that are already set in motion and ready for release, at this time we don’t have anything waiting for release in terms of an update to Discussion Forum.

I have neither the skill, time or interest to work through the many issues that keep appearing in regards to the forum. I’d rather be working on boats, or writing about them.

I’ve greatly enjoyed getting to know the small group of ‘proanista’ that post here regularly, and especially the sailing and building reports from Skip, Johannes, Rael, and too many others to list individually. I have learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t work in regards to hosting a bunch of free thinkers such as yourselves. I’ve learned a lot about myself as well (sometimes painfully). I could not have managed the forums at all without the help and support of James Shanahan doing the moderating. Thank you one and all for your posts, insights and contributions over the past three years.

Even though the forums will be closed, the content will remain online as a resource for all. The link to the forum content will remain in the site footer.

As far as Proa File goes, The articles will continue with the wider editorial policy of including both cats and tris in the mix. To that end, I encourage anyone to send reports on what they are doing or seeing online in regards to interesting multihulls.

Thanks again,
Michael Schacht | Editor

Read the forum thread here.

Luca Antara is a new 20m (65’-6”) proa nearing completion in Sagres, Portugal, and will be ready for sea trials early 2015, according to the owner and builder, Robin Warde. The hulls are strip-planked western red cedar sheathed in fiberglass both inside and out, with extra carbon fibre strengthening where required - mostly around the masts - but also around the beams. Most of the rest of the boat is built of foam. She features a free-standing schooner rig: 17m (55’-7”) carbon fiber wing masts with 61 m2 (657 sq. ft.)  square-top sails. With wings the total sail area per mast becomes 75 m2 (807 sq. ft.) for a total of 150 m2 (1,615 sq. ft.) of upwind sail.

I’ve always wanted to have a sailboat (and told my better half when I proposed to her 35 years ago, that was my dream). I came across Harryproa via a friend and their simplicity of building compared to a catamaran appealed to me, partly because with simplicity came a large reduction in cost. Also it began to occur to me that they were well suited to total electrical generation of power as the windward pod almost never comes under the shadow of the sails, unlike a sailing cat. ~Robin

The Rudders

The asymmetrical rudder/daggerboards will attach to the side of the lee hull, and the rotating kick up attachments are presently being fabricated in Australia by the original engineering designer, Peter of Etamax Engineering. The final concept is based on Rob Denney’s Harryproa®, but I insisted on schooner rigging, and Peter put in a lot of thought designing the rudder/daggerboard attachment such that it will easily kick up under an obstruction (I’m thinking mostly, semi submerged containers, logs, sand banks and semi uncharted coral reefs), and can be set vertical, 20 deg, 40 deg, and 80 deg. The first 2 settings are essentially for the fore rudder. The spring to initiate kick up can also be adjusted to 6 different strength positions. The rudder/daggerboards are also moved by the pintle which can swivel through an adjustable (again!) degree at its top, so that they do not remain vertical when in motion.

The kick up mechanism has been the main sticking point in the design, but we believe we now have a mechanism that works and can easily and quickly be restored to its original position. ~Robin

The name ‘Luca Antara’, is derived from a Portuguese cartographer ‘Eredia’ in Malacca who might have known of Australia before the first Europeans (Dutch) ‘discovered’ it in 1606. An excellent name for a boat designed in Australia and built in Portugal.

Follow the build at Proa Luca Antara. Thanks to Robin for the update, and best of luck with the launch.

Pacific Voyagers Charitable Trust is an NGO that builds sailing vessels that only an NGO could build. Neither the market driven yachting industry or corporate sponsored racing could even conceive of boats as cool as these, let alone build a fleet! This is Rangi, the second of the Vaka Motu line of inter-island cargo, passenger, and fishing double canoes. Intended not as a reproduction of prior art, the Vaka Motu imagine the future. The hulls are quite “modern” in the basics of freeboard, L/B ratio, and plan form, yet exude an ancient Pacific genetic visual code from every angle. They are gorgeous, and my hat is off to the designers, who are unnamed on the website. The boat harks back to the day when working cargo craft were both beautiful and functional, something that has been rather lost or ignored in modern ship design.

The main impetus behind the Vaka Motu was to develop a typical working boat for the Pacific that can be built and operated by the islanders themselves. The typical distance for inter-island traffic is 50 to 100 nm, but the vessel is also capable of long open ocean crossings. It can be used for many purposes, i.e. to bring goods from remote outer islands to the central markets, for coastal fishing operations, for noise-free whale watching and sightseeing tours for tourists and it could even operate as a floating school bus. It provides an economic and environment-friendly transportation system for people and products on the islands while fostering cultural revival, educational opportunities and community empowerment.

The Vaka Motu requires no use of fossil energy as it is purely wind and solar powered. Just like the Vaka Moana, the Vaka Motu is based on the traditional double-hulled polynesian sailing canoe design. However, in contrast to traditional vaka their hulls are made of E-Glass and Epoxy Resin. The fibreglass production is simple and can be handed over easily to local craftsmen after adequate training as the construction of the hulls is done with a mould that is easily transportable in small containers. Its shallow 0.8m draft makes it possible to sail across shallow lagoons and to easily land on beaches. It is steered by a traditional wood steering paddle (hoi). Like the Vaka Moana, our Vaka Motu have a multi-purpose boom that can be used as a crane to assist loading and unloading of cargo, and all beams are connected to the hulls through traditional lashings.

Of course, I can’t help but think this catamaran would also make a fine cruising boat.

Thanks to Paul C. for the submission. Do you have something interesting for the Proa File? Send it in!

Whenever we drive by a marina, we almost always have to duck in and take a quick look, to see if there are interesting multis lurking about. It’s called walking the dock, and the online version is perusing Craigslist and brokerage ads. When we stumble upon something interesting, we’ll post it here as Dock Ranger.

Sundreamer is the iconic performance cruising cat designed by New Zealand artist David Barker, and built by he and Fiona Kay on a New Zealand farm in 1983. He and the boat were showcased in Nautical Quarterly 23, which is where I first read about it, and it’s still as cool today as it was when launched, 31 years ago.

Like most of us, David Barker couldn’t afford his dream boat, until he conceived of a cunning plan:

Sundreamer and her near sister Stratosphere are unique products of a design and construction concept that brings large multihulls into the realm of possibility for many transoceanic dreamers, people whose pocketbooks are less prepossessing than their dreams. Both are modular yachts, born in a simple mold… The giant main beam that connects the hulls of Sundreamer was lifted from that mold, as were the underbodies, the side decks, and the blisters on either flank. There are 14 different applications of the same shape in Sundreamer, the pieces were simply assembled at the end of the construction process through the magic of fiberglass and kevlar.
—Jay Broze, Nautical Quarterly

To Proanista, the “blisters” echo the anti-capsize pods found on some proas. They weren’t added for stability, however, but to open up the confined linear space of the hulls, with a minimum of weight and windage. Sundreamer is as modern today as ever, give her a reverse bow facelift and everyone would think she was the latest thing.

Well cared for and updated over the past decade, find it here on Seaboats for $200,000 NZ.

Every year in September, Port Townsend turns itself into a virtual Victorian seaport bristling with wooden masts, steam funnels, pirates, boatbuilders and sailors, the smell of tar, varnish and frying cod, and thousands of tourists soaking it all in. The odd multihull is occasionally found nestled between the ratlines and the bow sprits… this is what I saw this year.

The only “multihull” to claim bonafide antique status was the 16’ VIPER - an authentic 1929 Hickman Sea Sled. Not quite a multihull, the patented inverted V hull was darn close for its day. this example features a double step chine design, and according to the owner, does 30 mph with a 25 HP Tohatsu outboard. The original 1929 32 HP Johnson was also on display.

A Papua New Guinea dugout outrigger canoe was on display, built with Soi Islanders by the young crew of the schooner Pacific Grace during her offshore Pacific voyage of July 2008.

WILDFLOWER is a custom 22’ wood/epoxy catamaran built by Skip Allan and Howard Spruit in 2011. The little cat’s home port is Capitola, CA, and with her 8’-6” beam and 800 lb displacement, was trailered up to Washington State behind the family car. This summer she was launched in Anacortes for a cruise up to Desolation Sound and back, before attending the Wooden Boat Festival. Read more about her build here.

Richard Woods again brought his SKOOTA 28 cruising power cat. The designer describes her as a semi-displacement power catamaran ideal for couple to cruise the Pacific NW. The flow between cockpit and cabin takes advantage of “living all on one level” of a solid bridge deck cat, and I can well imagine it as an ideal cruiser for the inland passage.

Trimarans were represented by SUNBOW, a John Marples designed Constant Camber 35. Launched in 2002, the tri was built in the Mohave Desert by Dick White while he was employed at Burt Rutan’s air and spacecraft company “Scaled Composites”.

My “Best In Show” is the new OUTRIGGER JUNIOR displayed on the water by Chesapeake Light Craft. This is a really lovely little multihull that gives nothing away to the varnished monohull eye candy floating around. My hat is off to John Harris and CLC for bringing such a sweet outrigger sailing canoe to market. Read more about the kit here.

Have YOU been to an event with some interesting multihull content? Send in a report!