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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

Ninja Pro - Sailing Outrigger

This sporty little multihull hails from Cape Town, the home of designer Gerhard Schein and G-Force dinghies. It’s called a “tacking proa”, though we purists would say ”outrigger”. It has all the mod-cons like a square top main and a carbon fiber bow sprit for the screacher, and it looks like a great ride. Though the actual boat doesn’t have it, the 3D model on the G-Force site shows a Bruce foil in the ama.

Edmond Bruce was a brilliant sailing theorist and experimenter who was perhaps the brightest star of the Amateur Yacht Research Society (AYRS) in it’s 60’s and 70’s heyday. He had a gift for experiments - building wind tunnels out of bailing wire and desk fans, and tank testing his ideas for a miniscule fraction of the cost of a typical university. He published his results in the famous AYRS newsletter, a peculiarly British institution that printed all manner of demented English sailing fantasies as well as serious research into sailing, and since absolutely no one else was interested in the topic, they had the field mostly to themselves.

Bruce first posited the idea of using angled hydrofoils for balancing heeling force back in 1965, and it is an idea that is ever so slowly catching on. Now ocean racing trimarans sport angled boards in the amas, and so do the latest A Cats. I’m sure Edmond Bruce would be very pleased. A Bruce foiled outrigger is unique because the foil pushes up on one tack, and pulls down on the other.

Testing with Models

The Year in Proas

2009 was a good year for the proa “virus”. We witnessed two proa “messabouts”, and the launch of a truly spectacular “giant”.

The 2009 Texas Proa Championships featured four proas in attendance, and a race between Kevin O’Neill’s 21’ Skate and Laurent Coquilleau’s 21’ proa. The First New Zealand Proa Congress had a turnout of eight outrigged craft, including several canoes of Gary Dierking’s design. James Brett’s Free Radical took home the trophy. Both events are planned to repeat in 2010.

Inigo Wijnen launched the 71’ Gaia’s Dream in Oz, and capped 2009 with the maiden voyage from Coffs Harbour to Sydney.

A Proa for Ariadne

On the Greek island of Naxos, fabled home of Dionysus and Ariadne, Helmut Mueller is building an 8 meter proa. Unusually for its size, it is actually a half-displacement model of a 10 meter proa Helmut intends to build. However, we decided it was best to build the 8 meter model first and test it thoroughly. Besides being a lot of fun, the 10 M proa is intended to be practical transportation between the islands of the Cyclades, with the ability to carry several hundred kg of cargo- so it needs to work, and work well.

This proa is laid out along the general lines of the Kiribati proas, with the famous “Kiribati dimple” in the lee side, and a 40 mm lateral camber to the keel. The only hydrodynamic innovation is the use of a “vortex tunnel” keel, which Dieter Shulz and John Dalziel developed some years ago, to get better windward speed from hulls without daggerboards. Dieter built and tested aerodynamic models which showed promising lift/drag characteristics, but as far as we know this will be the first full-size test of the concept.

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Schacht Marine Now Open

I’m very pleased to announce that Schacht Marine, my professional marine industrial design site is now up and running! It includes a blog (of course) and that will be where the majority of my posts will appear from now on. Schacht Marine will range much further afield than Proafile, gathering inspiration from all sectors of the design world. That is also where I’ll be presenting new proposals - and there will most likely be a proa or two in there. I’ll also be looking at modern yacht design while wearing a cultural analysis hat, which I think could be a lot of fun. See The Battle Axe for an example. Please come visit and say “Hi” at the new digs!

Proafile will remain as an archive and resource for proanauts, and proa specific content will still be added. Thanks to everyone who contributed to Proafile over the years, it has been an honor and a privilege to get to know you.

All the best,

Michael Schacht

Beach Cruiser - Reloaded

The Beach Cruiser sketch from last March has progressed into a 3D model - my first 3D project in a long while - a good vehicle for relearning the ropes. To recap, Beach Cruiser is intended to be a multihull version of the popular "open boat" style of camping cruiser. Over the years, small cats have become somewhat the victims of their own success - evolving into pure race boats. It's a bit of a shame really, considering their roots come from the ocean crossing voyaging canoes of the Polynesians. Why not a beach cat "voyaging canoe"? A small trailer boat that maintains (much) of the performance of its race bred cousins, but with considerably more storage, comfort and seaworthiness. A boat for really going places... quickly!

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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?

Gary Dierking on a Sail About

Gary Dierking, the New Zealand based author of Building Outrigger Sailing Canoes and one of the primary nodes of modern appreciation and adoption of ancient Pacific canoe forms, is back in Fiji, doing his delightful version of backpacking/cruising - which entails flying to an island of your choice and building a small, sailing magic carpet, using indigenous material when possible, and where that fails, ship the epoxy ahead. Then sail about, soak up the inimitable island culture, and as a sort of "balance of payment", leave the canoe. A creative alternative to Carnival Cruise Lines, IMHO.

Tahiti Douche

A 58' vintage Atlantic racing proa has become available in the Lesser Antilles. 'Tahiti Douche' (also campaigned as 'Lessives Saint Marc') was launched in June 1980, to compete in short-handed races across the Atlantic such as the TwoSTAR. One of the few racing proas to survive the carnage of that period, he's been sailing ever since in the idyllic trade winds of St. Martin.

'Tahiti Douche' was designed by Daniel Charles of Belgium for French yachtsman Alain Gliksman, and was built using the WEST wood/eopxy system by Starberry Ltd. of Ipswich, England.

We decided not to take the risk of too wildly diverting from the 'Cheers' concept, with which designer Newick had so brilliantly proved his ability.

Like 'Cheers', the boat has identical hulls in length and beam, two "dagger-rudders" and a free-standing schooner rig. The windward pod guards against capsize from being caught aback, as well as providing a bit more interior volume.

'Tahiti Douche' has always been one of my favorites, and the sleek proa is still reported as wicked fast. It would be interesting to know what modifications and improvements have been made in those 27 years, and I'd love to see recent photos. Contact the seller through Bob Wise at Boat Bits blog.

Tahiti Douche (as launched)

LOA: 55'-9"/17m
LWL: 46'-0"/14m
BOA: 27'-6"/8.4m
Displacement: 5,885 lbs/2,670 kg
Sail Area: 784 sq. ft./36.5 s.m., plus selected headsails

Larger pics after the jump.

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June Launchings

After an extensive refit (that included sawing the hull in half and adding a few feet), Harmen Hielkema's Toroa is back in his element, testing a new crab claw rig. Toroa steers by weight shift and adjusting the immersion of two daggerboards. Read more at Canoes of Oceania.




Gaia's Dream. Only one year after construction began, a 70' modern Pacific proa has been successfully launched in NSW Australia. The innovative variable geometry rig should be in place in August, according to the builder, Inigo Wijnen. See more at Inigo's site.



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