Entries | Proas

Rig Options - Schooner

Though the schooner has several good points, the most important one as far as proas are concerned is the ability to vary the fore and aft CE (center of effort) by trimming the sails. This ability cannot be overstated enough, in my opinion. Proas are, by their nature, "rudder-challenged". That is, the necessity of shunting makes operating a rudder a problem. You may think that I am talking about the problem of shifting the rudder from one end to the other during each shunt. Though this is an issue, twin rudders, perhaps counter-rotating, at each end of the hull, can handily solve this problem. No, the bigger problem is that a proa must come to a complete and dead stop for each and every shunt.

As any sailor knows, allowing a sailboat to come to a stop is allowing it to get out of control, because with no water flowing past, the rudder is rendered useless. All Western craft are fundamentally designed with the unspoken assumption that the craft is NEVER to come to a complete halt while sailing. When this does unintentionally occur, the boat is said to be "caught in irons" - a colorful expression that illustrates the Western sailor's dread of the situation.

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Testing With Models - II

After my exciting but ultimately unsatisfying flirtation with anti-heeling Bruce foils for my proa scale model, I went out and bought my first computer. We all know what a huge time sink that is, so the proa and any model testing pertaining to it went onto a very remote back burner. This turned out to be perfect timing, since once I discovered the internet, I gradually found other people who were also interested in proa design and development. (All three of us!)

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Testing With Models - I

After the disastrous first sail of my 26’ proa Rozinante, and after waiting a suitable time for my emotional wounds to heal, I decided I needed to do some research and testing. Research was easy, since there is practically nothing out there to read on proa design. One notable exception is the Amateur Yacht Research Society (AYRS) which has published many a paper about proas over the years, and is one of the few yacht design organizations that treats proas as a legitimate area of interest. I became a member post haste.

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