Articles

Project Cheers: 2016 Edition

 History  Proas

We’re pleased to announce that ‘Project Cheers’ - the story of the 1968 OSTAR racing proa - is again in print. A book in three parts, the story of CHEERS is narrated by the three principle players: Tom Follet the skipper, Dick Newick the designer, and Jim Morris, the race syndicate organizer and financier. A very good read, especially for budding R2AK syndicates.

This new edition is a labor of love of of Russell and Ashlyn Brown, of…

18 July 2016     0 comments.

R2AK 2016 and Parallel Evolution

 Reports  Racing

The starting horn for the second annual Race to Alaska sounded at 6:00 am, Thursday morning, the 23rd of June. 58 boats crossed the starting line and headed for Victoria, BC, the first leg of an epic 750 mile race to Ketchikan - no motors, and no support. For a few days beforehand, The small town of Port Townsend, WA was transformed into race headquarters, full of teams, boats, officials, sponsors, volunteers and media. We PT villagers…

Team Angus

09 July 2016     0 comments.

Walk on Water

 Hydrofoils

I had no idea this was even possible. Kai Lenny SUP downwind hydro-foiling. A hoverboard that works over water!

 

play

12 May 2016     1 comments.

Nearly ready for the R2AK trimaran

 Dock Ranger  Racing  Trimarans

Sealark is a 19’ expedition trimaran built for the 2015 Race to Alaska, but did not make it to the start. The construction is multi-chine stitch-and-glue plywood/epoxy with fiberglass skins, and a custom carbon fiber mast and sails. Weight is approx. 400 lbs complete. Human power is by sliding seat rowing, or paddle.

The boat requires more development and work (like figuring out how to keep the amas firmly attached) but the project…

23 March 2016     0 comments.

Russell Brown Refits a G32

 Boatbuilding  Catamarans

Russell Brown of PT Watercraft is refitting a venerable Gougeon G32 in his shop this winter, and best of all, he’s blogging all the details! Sort of like hanging out in his shop, but a lot better because he’s still able to actually gets stuff done. If you’ve ever wanted to see how carbon fiber, epoxy and a vacuum bag all come together to make multihull magic (and who hasn’t?) then head on over to gougeon32.blogspot.com.

New G32 rudders

04 February 2016     0 comments.

Mareinoa: a proa for cruising

 Just Launched  Proas  Rigs  Voyaging

A report on a new cruising proa build by Manfred Meier, designed by Othmar Karschulin of multihull.de. Thanks to Manfred and Othmar for the submission! —Editor

I became aware of the proa when reading a book about multihulls, named “Mehrrumpfboote” (multihulls)  written by Klaus D. Kurtz. I expected that this book would deal with catamaran and trimarans only. But instead it started with a report of William Dampier, one of the earliest…

Mareinoa

02 January 2016     7 comments.

Burt Rutan’s SkiGull Flying Boat

 New Designs

Burt Rutan is probably the most famous aircraft designer in the world, so it’s always interesting to see what he’s up to. These days, perhaps inspired by his new retirement digs in Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, he’s building a trimaran in his garage. A flying trimaran named the SkiGull. The amphibious airplane is a “dream plane for Rutan and his wife, Tonya, a newly-minted seaplane pilot. Together, they plan to tour the world and land…

Rutan SkiGull

21 November 2015     3 comments.

It’s a Newick

 Designers

OutRig Media has announced that the official biography of Dick Newick has just been published.

Dick Newick was possibly the 20th century’s most influential multihull designer. Now aficionados of multihulls – including trimarans, catamarans and proas – can enjoy reading his official biography. This book takes readers through his early years, including kayak building and sailing, and then traveling throughout Europe in the years…

It's a Newick

02 November 2015     5 comments.

Le Prao Hot

 Proas

Here is 6:20 of hot proa footage from our friends at Le Prao Pétrel. Pétrel is a stitch-and-glue plywood “sharpie” proa with aluminum beams and a crab claw rig. In other words, very basic and simple. However looks are deceiving because this boat has been under steady incremental improvement since 2008, and the recent videos are proof of the fruits of slow and steady perseverance.

The blog is an excellent document of the trials and…

14 September 2015     5 comments.

Palindrome: skin-on-frame proa for the R2AK

 Proas  Racing

A few days after the start of the R2AK I was biking around Point Hudson Marina to see what I might see, and decided to duck into a grassy field behind the RV lot when I ran into a proa! I skidded to a stop and pointed at the boat, “That’s a proa!” I cleverly exclaimed. The young man who was doing something on the boat stopped what he was doing, smiled and affirmed “Yes, it is!” That’s how I met Dillon Majoros, the owner, designer and…

Palindrome proa

03 July 2015     7 comments.