Skip Johnson is building another proa! An avid contributor to the old Proafile forum(RIP), Skip has built some truly radical proas in his day. Toning down the rad half a notch for his latest, QB is a well-proportioned pocket cruiser, using a novel construction method of Gpet sheet foam core and fiberglass. Much thanks for the building report, Skip! -Editor
By Skip Johnson
QB aka “Questing Beast” from…
SGIAN GHLAS (Grey Knife in Gaelic) is a new 24’ foam cored fiberglass proa submitted by Topher Dawson of Ullapool Scotland.
At first glance I thought it was the second silliest proa design I’d ever seen! Like someone had accidentally beached their dory on the back of a small submarine or a Narwhal? However, Topher Dawson is perfectly serious about his new proa, and as I studied the odd craft and read his reasoning for it, I found…
Independent Catamaran and the new IC36. I have to say this boat is pretty trick (is that even still a word?) but it should be for the €400,000 asking price. Demountable, container friendly, stylish and fast, the way cats really can be. I gotta admit that they had me with the Eames chairs. I also gotta admit that Eames did not design their chairs to become icons of cool for the 1%.
Well here it is late 2021. The world has been in a COVID-19 mess for 18 months, with no real end in sight. Global supply chains are a complete train wreck, and it’s not looking to change anytime soon. Prices of lumber, especially plywood, have skyrocketed, along with most everything else related to boat building. Back in the day, when so many plywood classics were designed and built, good marine plywood was a very reasonably priced…
B&B Yacht Designs is continuing their development of a very neat little adventure trimaran. It has pretty much everything you’d want in a pocket tri, nothing you don’t, and all in excellent proportion.
“Features include a roller furling mainsail and headsail for easy reefing and a boom for superior sail control. The amas retract into the center crossbeams to reduce the overall beam for trailering without having to demount the amas. A…
Mark Palmquist is a craftsman and furniture designer from Frederick, Maryland, who has sent us some 3d models of his intriguing new proa design. He writes:
Mark Palmquist is the son of Martti J. Palmquist, a pilot and inventor who experimented with and patented a new type of multihull called a ‘Wingmaran’ which is similar to a trimaran but instead of long skinny amas, it features a high aspect ratio hydroplaning wing. …
Paul Bieker is continuing to develop the power outrigger. His latest 24 footer will achieve a cruising speed of 15 knots and 25 max, with a 25 hp 4-stroke outboard. Power outriggers should really become the maritime “pickup truck”. Bieker says:
This plywood outrigger power boat is being built in Martha’s Vineyard. We started with the 20 foot power proa as a template, and modified it for a slightly bigger motor and simpler structure…
Cat 600 is the latest design from Pjoa, and their first offering that is not an outrigger! Like all their boats, the 6m long double canoe employs their highly evolved crab claw sail. Designed for day sailing and camp cruising, the canoe is intended to be launched from the beach and through the surf. Brimming with carefully considered details, the plywood stitch and glue construction will appeal to home builders.
See more here.
KANU-1 is a design commissioned by Paul Cheevers in Papua New Guinea. It is a solo paddle canoe intended for reef fishing off the beach. Paul writes:
My idea is to make a product that will give a boost to the local fisheries sector. At present most fishing is done from Yamaha-powered banana boats (pangas). That is fine if you can afford one, but most cannot. I am aiming more towards the women in the village who would paddle out at…
As I am confined to quarters for the duration, pacing the perimeter of my isolation in endless circles, my imagination is drawn to devices of freedom and escape. Freedom of the seas is a perpetually compelling and romantic idea so here I present a Bug Out Boat for 2020.
The basic concept is millennia old: tie (or ‘catamaran’) a few logs together into a rudimentary raft, build a platform above with some shelter and a device to catch…
