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Proafile v4.1

A new back-end for Proafile! The site has been upgraded to Expression Engine which doesn't mean much to visitors, but should make my admin more fun, meaningful, and productive! It also means that all Proafile pages are now search engine friendly.

Build This Boat!

Chris Ostlind is offering a free set of plans to the first person who steps up to build his new 22.5 performance coastal cruiser/racer: Tribal Menace. Read all about it at Watertribe

Wa’apa Sailing Canoe Launched

Gary Dierking has launched Wa'apa - "a three board sailing canoe". The handsome design is intended for sheet plywood construction, and is built in three take-apart 8 ft. sections, which can be assembled as a 16 or a 24 footer. The 24 footer seats up to four crew, and the canoe may be rigged as a tacking outrigger, a shunting proa, or even a trimaran. Optional trampolines and a tent will allow sleeping onboard. Construction plans include full size patterns, printable PDF files, and construction photos. Details at Gary Dierking Boatbuilder

Large Fish ‘May Follow Dinosaurs’

The destruction wrought on the world's oceans by industrial fishing is made clear in a shocking new report. The analysis, published in the scientific journal Nature, suggests 90% of large predator fish have been cleared from the seas in the past 50 years or so. The authors say the era of "heroic" fish - the truly huge swordfish, marlin and sharks that inspired legends and novels - is now well and truly over. BBC News

The End of Dolphin Sky

The 16m proa "Dolphin Sky" has been shipwrecked on the Dutch coast. Joachim Herborn, the owner and sailor, was rescued safely. The proa was patterned after Polynesian designs, and was intended to sail around the world. It is not yet known if the boat can be salvaged. Multihull.de

New Wharram GRP 8 Meter

James Wharram Designs has announced the completed prototype of a new production moulded GRP catamaran: the Tiki 8m by Multimarine Composites Ltd. "The design features gently curved V section canoe hulls with stern hung rudders on skegs. A wingsail sloop rig with boomless mainsail provides a low centre of effort for increased stability. With a trampoline forward, and GRP bridgedeck tray with self draining trampoline seats, it also has a bridge deck size small enough for easy trailing. Two moulded GRP crossbeams and one light aluminium beam at bow and beams fastened down with quick tightening webbing straps for fast assembly will appeal to many seeking a trailable catamaran." James Wharram Designs.

SOF Outrigger Canoe

Brian Schulz of Cape Falcon Kayak in Oregon has been sailing Fog and Thunder, his skin-on-frame version of a Hawaiian outrigger sailing canoe. "Adapting the hawaiian outrigger sailing canoe for skin on frame construction has been a powerful and revelatory experionce for me... at 20 feet long and less than 150 lbs fully rigged it has renewed my faith in the endless adaptability if skin on frame technology. Building it mostly from scraps I spent less than 500 dollars to build it in less than a month." Cape Falcon Kayak

New “affordable” Corsair Sprint 750

"The new Corsair Sprint 750 takes performance and fun to the next level: it offers all the performance and flexibility of a beach catamaran with none of the annoyances... and incredibly easy to afford at about $49,000." Ya know, I could build a better beach cat too if I could charge 3 times the price... Corsair Marine

Flaquita Plans Available

Joe Henry says that plans for his sweet little 'Flaquita' epoxy/ply outrigger are now available. They consist of 8 sheets at 24"X 36". Also a CD with about 45 construction photos. $100 US dollars, includes shipping. See his site for lots of pics and a new account of a cruise through the Mexican Yucatan. Flaquita

Kayak Sail Rig Reviews

It's odd that the modern canoe/kayak phenom is so divorced from sailing - especially since the original 19th century devotees of the sport were so into it. That seems to be changing. "Wind: the alternative energy source for the self-propelled" - Sea Kayaker Magazine review 13 sails in the April 2005 issue. Sea Kayaker Magazine Page 4 of 5 pages « First  <  2 3 4 5 >