Va’a Motu, a Tahitian Sailing Canoe

Gary Dierking has completed plans for his new Va’a Motu, a 20’ Tahitian-style sailing outrigger canoe. As usual for Gary Dierking’s work, the boat is a clever amalgam of traditional Pacific design and modern construction materials and methods. The canoe features a low, wave-piercing bow and a tall, upswept stern, wave-piercing ama, and a high aspect, fully battened marconi rig. Plans are US $135.00 plus $15.00 for international air mail postage, available now from Gary’s site.

The Achilles Keel

Dmitri Orlov makes some of his typically thought provoking and inflammatory observations on “square boats”. He is no fan of the keelboat, that’s for sure. I only bring it up because we have plenty of interest in barge hull proas on the forum, and of course, proas avoid the whole deep keel problem by sticking the ballast out to windward - where Tangaroa intended.

What’s New in Square Boats

Junk Rigged Tacking Proa in Sweden

It’s not every day you find a junk rigged single outrigger yacht cruising the fjords of Scandinavia! This example is from Röda Möllan Sweden. Akka is 36’ (11m) of pure wooden proa porn, featuring a spindle-shaped hull with a NACA 0066 profile, schooner junk rig, Bruce foil (hydrofoil) equipped ama, hobbit house-like wooden interior and enough chrome and varnish to make a Riva jealous. See more in the Forums: Junk rigged Tacking Proa from Röda Möllan Sweden. Special thanks to Johannes for posting the thread.

The Proas of John Pizzey - Part 3

John Pizzey continues with thoughts on proa configurations.

I started writing for Proafile because over the years I had seen several comments about this mysterious Mr. Pizzey! No mystery really, just a lack of information, so I thought I should rectify that and record my proa adventures. By the time I had finished putting pen to paper and thinking about what I was writing, my new design became clear as it had to meet the objectives I put down in writing. The design has been done conceptually and I will soon post a full description.

The Proas of John Pizzey - Part 2

John Pizzey, continued.

My introduction to modern proas, after designing, building and sailing my offshore catamarans, was aboard Tony Williams’ proa. It worked extremely well, was fast, fun and controllable but a bit complex in its rig.  However it scored with no rudders or centreboard and was steered very effectively by the sail which was set on a spar with a central boom at the end of a gantry like mast. I grew fond of that sail arrangement and endeavoured to incorporate it on one of my proas.

Proaler Skate

To remind us that not all proas are watercraft, we exhibit the 1958 Zündapp Janus. This tiny treasure is part of the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum, which is contracting with RM Auctions to liquidate its inventory, with just under 200 Microcars to be auctioned off without reserve over two days.

The Proas of John Pizzey - Part 1

John Pizzey may be an unfamiliar name to proanauts outside Australia, but we hope to correct that. John has been experimenting with proas as long or longer than any modern inventor, and he has an immense body of both practical and theoretical knowledge to share. Proafile is pleased to present the first article in a series, authored by John Pizzey.

A few thoughts on cruising proas after many years absent from sailing them but hopefully about to get back to the misadventure. As can be seen from the literature, there are any number of possible rig, rudder and centreboard combinations that can be made to work, some easily, some needing a fair amount of skill and diligent attention. The trick is to get a combination that works well.  If you can’t easily single-hand the boat I would question its usefulness Furthermore, there is obviously not only one correct solution, or for that matter any solution.

Archival Video Footage of CHEERS

Archival video footage of some golden oldie multihulls, including CHEERS sailing in Newport after finishing third in the 1968 OSTAR. Proaporn begins at 7:20.

1968’s London’s OSTAR (Observer Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race) featured a large fleet of capable entrants, mostly traditional monohull types with a few of the relatively newer multihull yachts mixed in. Among the latter group was a little yellow proa designed by Dick Newick.

Special thanks to Proafile forum member Johannes for this submission!

Proa Night at NWMA

The Northwest Multihull Association is hosting Proa Night this coming Tuesday, January 8!

With the new water speed record established by the Vestas Sail Rocket, the new proa kits from Chesapeake Light Craft and a resurgence of interest in Russell Brown’s seminal Jzerro design, proas have become a bit more visible now.  We will present video of various proas doing their thing and hear from the eminent naval architect, Paul Bieker, who has long been interested in proas and who is currently noodling on a proa design with Russ Brown.

The NWMA meets at the Puget Sound Yacht Club, 2321 N Northlake Way, Seattle, WA 98103.

The Need 4 Speed

VESTAS Sailrocket 2 with Paul Larsen helming has just smashed the world speed sailing record with a 59 knot average speed over 500 metres! All still to be confirmed and ratified, but this is such a deserved record! ~Mark Jardine

That’s it, we’ve smashed the arse off it! One small step for proa, one giant leap for proa-kind!

A nice write up by Brian Hancock: The Rocket that is a Sailrocket