Entries | Flotsam & Jetsam

Devolution

Apacolypso is a Pacific Islander inspired outrigger sailing canoe, made from aluminum pontoon boat parts, bamboo and various other locally obtainable items in their native American south, all lashed together with spit and vinegar. Her two crew are about to embark on a voyage of discovery, circumnavigating Florida via the “Saltwater Paddling Trail”, from Pensacola to Fort Clinch State Park, a distance of 1,515 miles. However, Apocolypso is far more than the sum of her parts:

She is a vessel of transformation for civilized men and women who wish to explore and reconnect with the ebb and flow of natural law. It is a laboratory of earthly experience, floating above an estuary of life, the most productive ecosystem on the planet. She is a ship, a transactional embodiment between two natural entities, a partnership, a friendship, a relationship, registered and limitedly liable via a citizenship.

I will be seriously following this voyage of poets, happily discarding and embracing their two citizenships. Henry David Thoreau lives on. Apacolypso Designs

Neo 21 from Lunada Design

Chris Ostlind has floated a new design concept over at Lunada Design - a sliding beam camp cruising cat - the Neo 21. Chris notes that the usual beach cat makes a poor little cruiser (too wet, uncomfortable, tender, etc.) and with the Neo 21 he's made a valiant attempt to address these shortcomings, while keeping the one good reason to go with a multihull in the first place: speed under sail.

The construction is a combination of 1/4" plywood and cedar strip, covered with fiberglass and epoxy. The rig, rudders and boards are sourced from a suitable donor beach cat, such as a Hobie 18, but that is where the similarity ends. The boat features powerful, high volume hulls, high and dry bridgedeck clearance, comfortable seating for a crew of 2-4, an 8.5' trailering beam that expands to 11' on the water, a solid bridge deck and even a central pod. If high performance beach cruising appeals to you, this could be your ticket. How about a souped up version for the Watertribe Everglades Challenge?

Micro Cruising With Cindy

Miss Cindy is a 16 foot micro cruising catamaran designed and built by Tony Bigras of Vancouver BC in 2008. Tony cruised the little yacht from Baja California, down the Mexican Pacific coast, Nicaragua, Panama, up the Caribbean Sea to Cuba, and finally to Florida - quite the shakedown voyage! I’m reading Tony’s well written and photo documented account of the trip, and am currently somewhere south of Acapulco.

Miss Cindy is on the cutting edge of small cruiser design, employing a number of emerging features:

• Biplane rig - twin free-standing masts, one for each hull. The biplane rig has a number of benefits: the simplicity and security of an unstayed rig, a tendency to be self-steering and a lower center of effort. The downside is that the sails can interfere with each other on certain courses (reaching), and this problem is exacerbated by a narrow beam. Miss Cindy seems to be the exception to the rule, and that may have something to do with the choice of rig.
• Standing Lug - recently popularized by Matt Layden and his designs, the standing lug is balanced, powerful, close-winded, roller furling and very low aspect ratio - all good things, but especially on a biplane multihull cruiser.
• Lifting Body Hull - a sharp trapezoidal section combined with an extremely low aspect ratio keel gets Miss Cindy to windward. No daggerboard worries. This approach harks back to the beginning of the modern sailing multihull - the boardless beach cats of Waikiki.

Miss Cindy is now for sale in Florida!

Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges!

Proas Through the Ages

My buddy Lee picked up this ancient artifact for me recently: How to Build 20 BOATS, a Fawcett 50 cent publication from 1943. It's reprinted material from Mechanix Illustrated, and it happens to include the PLYWOOD PROA by Hi Sibley. Aside from the historical value (nearly equivalent to King Tut's Tomb) I find it interesting that:

1. In all the years since then, plywood is still the preferred construction material for amateur boat construction. You'd think we'd be using Unobtainium by now.

2. The usual story about the growth of the multihull "movement" in the U.S. is that WWII servicemen returned from duty in the South Pacific where they had witnessed outriggers first hand, and then proceeded to create modern versions such as Woody Brown's Manu Kai. Does this article confirm that story, or does it imply an earlier origin?

3. The cover photo. I can't help but be drawn to this woman and her enigmatic grin. Like Mona Lisa, I keep imagining the real reason for that smile...



Remainder of proa article after the jump.

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Happy New Year

This fantastic card came my way today from the gang at Canoe Sailing Magazine. Maybe '09 will be the Year of the Proa! Hope everyone had a good Christmas, and may the new year exceed your expectations!

Sealand

I've just read Sealand, over at Creed O'Hanlon's blog: Tiki in Thailand, and I highly recommend it. It's a great article - exploring the utopian ideal called "Seasteading" . Seasteading is the creation of autonomous floating villages on the sea, either legal or piratical, depending on the political leanings of the villagers. Seasteading is the natural reaction to civilization, as was homesteading 200 years ago.

Human civilization, no matter how noble the founding, is always eventually corrupted, and those of us who live in the former homesteads are the witnesses to that. At times the desire to start anew is overwhelming, and so people always have. The history of human exploration has more to do with fleeing Egypt (the stick) than finding the Promised Land (the carrot). Unfortunately, the carrot eventually always becomes the stick.

I'm personally not a big fan of the seasteading movement, although I understand the motivation. I read Daniel Quinn's Ishmael in 2002, with 911 still ringing in my ears. I'd check "anarchy" for my party, but somehow that party never seems to start. See Sail vs. Power.

For me (and most people), boats and the sea symbolize freedom, and seafarers instinctively understand that the ties of civilization eventually become the ties that bind, whether by land or sea. A few years ago I had this vision of myself paddling Westward in an outrigger canoe, seeking the PL, and I passed a Chinaman paddling East, seeking the same. Hah!

We have this notion that if only we could be free of government, we could be free. But wherever we move, no matter how pristine the initial environment, corruption follows. Eventually maybe we'll figure out that it's not the PLACE that is corrupted. When we finally do, there won't be any need to move, because then Everywhere will be 'Promised Land'.

Until then, may the sea remain free of the land.

Interesting Proajects

Some interesting proa builds:

Gaia's Dream: Gaia seems to be the matron deity of multihulls. Inigo Wijnen has built three boats all named after the Earth Mother, and James Wharram sails the famous Spirit of Gaia. Inigo's latest incarnation of Gaia will be a 71' shunting Pacific proa designed to carry up to 12 people or 9 tons of cargo, for expedition work.

GAIA’S DREAM does not use any fossil fuels in her normal use. She runs totally on alternative energy sources, sun, wind, bio fuel and ethanol. She can be used in a passenger mode or cargo mode or a mix of both.

Magpie: John Sullivan documents his non-traditonal build (check out the solar steam bending!) of a traditional Micronesian sailing canoe. Projected launch is late August... about now!

Greenbird: This land speed record contender is a proa! Echoing the "one-way proa" configuration of Crossbow, Richard Jenkins' carbon fiber land yacht is down under on Lake Lefroy looking to break the 116.7 mph land sail record currently held by Bob Schumacher in Iron Duck. Greenbird employs "aerodynamic ballast" (downforce) with its single airfoil-shaped crossbeam, a concept proposed by Australian proa designer J. S. Taylor in the 1960's. Article at WIRED.

A Southern Star

A superb ethnic double canoe and the superb CSN - together at the Southern Cross.



Ethnic Polynesian Double Canoe built by Hans Klaar, James Wharram, Oct 2007.
Thanks to CO'H for the heads up.

New Zealand on 100 Snails a Day

Tim Anderson has posted another canoe sailing adventure - this time from New Zealand. As usual, he nearly dies a few times (infection and hypothermia), lives on snails and oatmeal, experiences altered states of consciousness, camps where he shouldn't, meets interesting locals, and returns home with stomach parasites. Hard not to envy him. This time he sails Gary Dierking's Ulua, which is practically a yacht compared to his previous transport. Lots of good photos - especially if you like outrigger canoes, and who doesn't? Outrigger Canoe Sailing in New Zealand.

Wooden Eye Candy

Not much in the boating world is prettier than lapstrake smallcraft. The big green bow in the back belongs to Wawona - a lumber trading schooner.

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