new member here

 
larrydog
 
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larrydog
Total Posts:  1
Joined  16-02-2012
 
 
 
22 February 2012 17:46
 

Hi everyone,     
Well first off I am no boat builder. Never built one in my life.  I am however going to build two or maybe a third this summer in the basement with my grandsons.  Just something to paddle, but grandpa wants a Proa!!!  I have a study guide for Maddness and have looked at these boats online for several months now. Lots of designs to chose from and not as easy to pick as I had hoped.  Just not sure which one just yet.  Russ Browns boats are a first choice I think.  Jzero is a good plan for a fun fast boat.  I could tweek it just a little on the lee pod for some more room for the boys to sleep and still leave a little room for me. Sail plans are up in the air as well for me.  I want to keep the build inside something that a rig from a Hobby would work because there are so many to obtain.  I however again want a crab claw to play with just to be doing one with a few ideas on leading edges for them.  Cheap toy sail I guess.  I will just be lurking around in here for a while and just wanted to say hello.  I ran a mechanical contracting firm for years so building things and big progects are not intimidating for me.  I used to race sports cars so building things in carbon or glass is not new to me either.  this is something I can certenly do if I can just decide which project to pick.  It sounds like I am the Proa type for sure.  Maybe we should all be on medication for the Proa thing.  Just kidding guys.
Here is my rational for choosing a proa as a fun boat for me and the kids.  A cat and a tri can be flipped (well any of them can) but with enough lee pod in play it would be very hard to get a proa over on its back .  This is why I became interested in proa boats.  Any comment on this would be helpful for me. 
Lawrence

 
Adam
 
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Adam
Total Posts:  77
Joined  09-02-2012
 
 
 
22 February 2012 20:50
 
larrydog - 22 February 2012 05:46 PM

A cat and a tri can be flipped (well any of them can) but with enough lee pod in play it would be very hard to get a proa over on its back .

Well, a trimaran is just a proa with the leepod moved out further for extra righting leverage isn’t it?! My point is with the right kind of design and skippering, any configuration can be resistant to capsize.

After capsize, though, the proa seems to have a very clear intrinsic advantage to self-right don’t you think? So does the tacking outrigger. This is what first drew me to proas and still does.

Since it sounds like you’re fixing to do multiple projects, why not start smaller with one of the popular G. Dierking designs?

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/dierking/index.htm