The Logic of Madness
John Harris of CLC has taken delivery of his screaming yellow 31’ proa ‘Madness’ from Sea Island Boatworks in Charleston, NC, and says he’s looking at about a month of fitting out before the maiden sail.
Madness was inspired by, and designed in direct consultation with, proa guru Russell Brown. The design is a fusion of his 30-foot plywood Jzero design from the 1970’s, his more-refined cold molded 36-footer Jzerro, from 1993, and my own experiences with the proa Mbuli, which I designed and built in 2000.
John has put together a nice video explaining the method behind the Madness that includes a good overview on the what and why of proas.
I can’t wait for some on the water reports! What a wonderful machine for just enjoying the sensations of sailing. The cabin looks like it would be very practical on passage too.
amazing
Funny- I kept looking at that photo, wondering what the strip of wood bolted to the hull was for- then realized it was just the reflection of the beam… <roll eyes smiley> Nice finish…
Seems like the recession is producing a renaissance in western yachts, the wests rapid decline shows its completely lost for new ideas, but the best ideas are the traditional ones, we see designers like Chri White who totally abandoned his roots producing overpriced liabilities while the brown marples crew rising like proverbial phoenixes just when many would have called them yesterdays men.
Madness is really a very well designed using the modern technology. Its really well built for those who want to enjoy the sensation of sailing.