Articles

Polish Proa Rally

 News  Proas

No less then ten shunting proas attended this summer’s Proa Rally in Poland. Like a gathering of Ents, such a large number of proas flocking together outside the Pacific is a rare event indeed. Hats off to Janusz Ostrowski and other Poland Proanauts for making it happen.

More info and photos here on FB.

Proa Rally in Poland

13 August 2018     1 comments.

LaShunk - the shunting junk rig from Balkan Shipyards

 New Designs  Proas  Rigs  Research

Rael Dobkins from Balkan Shipyards has a new proa rig - a clever Chinese lug or junk designed for shunting. Rael hopes to combine all the traditional benefits of the junk rig, such as being easily reefed, single-handed, and cheap for the DIY crowd, with the requirements of shunting. Stay tuned to his channel to see how it all works out!

Thanks To Robert W. for the link.

LaShunk Proa Rig by Rael Dobkins

Junk Rig Forum…

28 June 2018     1 comments.

A Sailing Cargo Ferry

 New Designs  Proas

Harryproa has an interesting cargo proa concept: an inter-island ferry/cargo vessel for East Timor. The brief calls for 10 tons of cargo and capacity for 25 passengers, primarily (but not only) wind propelled, a crew of 2, shallow draft and beach-able, built and repaired by local semi/unskilled labor with minimal equipment and easily obtained materials, and a large tender.

Naturally, Harryproa has determined that a harryproa is the…

HP sailing cargo ferry

03 June 2018     5 comments.

The Designs of Lorenzo Acompañado II

 Designers

Lorenzo Acompañado II is a talented Filipino designer and boatbuilder who is exploring the traditional native double outrigger canoe in modern materials. He has designed and built a 6m (20’) sailing Paraw, a car-top Bigiw, and is currently building a decidedly modern version of the Bangka called the L20 Beach Trimaran. His designs include a 12m (40’) Balangay outfitted for dive charter and a 7.23 m (24’) Vinta.

See his work at Samal…

08 May 2018     1 comments.

Pete Hill’s KD10 biplane junk rig cat

 Catamarans  Dock Ranger  Rigs  Voyaging

Pete Hill’s 33’ cat ORYX is now for sale. The 33’ plywood/epoxy design is a modified Bernd Kohler KD10 that features a modern aero-junk rig, according to the seller.

She is a seaworthy boat having sailed 40,000 miles from England to New Zealand via the South Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Tasmania.
I’ve built and lived aboard several over the last 40 years, and sailed 1000’s of sea miles. Oryx is the culmination of that experience.

The…

Oryx

19 March 2018     0 comments.

Nick Beck and the Holopuni sailing canoe

 Designers  Outrigger Canoes

Nick Beck tells Patagonia about the creation and development of the Holopuni sailing canoe: A Thirty-Five-Year Voyage Back in Time.

In May 1981, I set out in a home-built Hawaiian sailing canoe from South Point on the island of Hawai’i to my home on Kaua’i. It was an adventure that would take me from the southern-most to the northern-most point of the Hawaiian Islands. I named my canoe Holopuni, “to sail everywhere”, and I’ve been…

The Holopuni Sailing Canoe

04 March 2018     0 comments.

First of the 500

 Just Launched  Proas

The 500 Sails Project has launched their first wapa. The Sakman Neni is a modern recreation of a traditional Mariana sailing canoe - or flying proa - as documented by Anson in 1734. It employs a Derek Kelsall KSS method fiberglass composite hull combined with bamboo connectives and lashings.

The name “500 Sails” was inspired by the arrival of the Spanish galleon San Pedro at Guam in 1565, when it was met by the Chamorros in their…

Mariana sailing canoe re-creation

28 February 2018     5 comments.

Echo class trimaran ‘MOBY’ by Dick Newick

 Dock Ranger  Trimarans

A nearly complete 38’ Echo class trimaran by Richard Newick has become available in NSW Australia. Deceased Qantas First Officer and boat builder Graham Murray’s family must liquidate the project. Built of foam sandwich with carbon reinforcement, the boat was lengthened to 38’ during construction.

The listing also includes fittings and equipment, all new: outboard motor, mast, boom, rudder, tiller, winches, sails, hatch covers,…

Newick Echo class trimaran

11 February 2018     2 comments.

The Case for the Cargo Proa

 Proas

Inspired by tales of the early American schooner trade (er… smuggling), I recently sat down to draw a multihull version of an inter-island or coastal cargo schooner. Monohull traders have been done a thousand times, but maybe something interesting might be had by an examination of the multihull.

My ideal cargo multihull would be manageable by a small crew, perhaps as few as 3 or 4. It would operate wherever the trade-winds provide…

Righting arm comparisons

06 January 2018     6 comments.