Aloha Proaphiles!

A little wordplay is always fun, huh? “Aloha” for coming or going (like a proa) and the South Pacific tradition of guest friendship. Also, I could not resist the doubtlessly unoriginal pun that followed.

I was delighted to discover this forum. Sadly, I discovered a certain contentiousness elsewhere, so am glad that the aloha spirit has found this new home. The universe itself poses enough obstacles without getting into fights with our brothers and sisters.

Now, by way of an introduction, for the past week or so, I’ve been scouring the internet for everything proa related, but I must say that my fascination with these craft is not new. As a teenager, I thought they were simply the most beautiful creatures to ever ply the seas, and I’ve been wanting to build them for another thirty years.

But I never did.

Life has a way of derailing teenage dreams. However, in middle age, I realize that if I don’t make a boat and put to sea in it, I will deeply regret a missed opportunity when it is too late.

At the moment, I’m pretty much flat broke. After a life as a working class chump, making money for other people, I got tossed and decided to reassess the meaning of life. Deep, huh? But haven’t you been there?

So I’m building me a proa whether I have the money or not. I want a wicked fast voyager, and I’m gonna get it. I want a long, lean, low screamer. I don’t give a hoot about accommodation. I want a boat that glides through the water like a dream, not a place to play cards. Who needs headroom when you have the sky?

So the other day I was looking at some sheets of cheap ply I bought to line the beat up bed of my truck, and I thought, “Hey! I could at least build a model! A nice, BIG model, like, six feet. This ply is what they call “luan.” It’s for things like the bottoms of drawers. It’s not very strong, and hardly marine grade, but it’s thin and light, so with enough paint, it should do the job.

Ideas, ideas!

Truth is, currently, that model consists of a lot of sketches and two longitudinal hull sections about which I keep changing my mind. That’s the fun of models. You can change your mind. You can scrap ‘em and start over with no great loss.

You can get hint about my line of thinking with regard to proas by looking at this awe inspiring boat: http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/garyd/walap.html

That’s a lot of sailing machine! It shows what can be done with limited means, and that means a LOT! Proas are the bomb. Case closed.

I should also say that I’m basically in love with Russell Brown proas. He seems to understand the spirit of these boats, and spirit is important.

I have a lot of questions. I have not been able to find the answers on the internet or in the library. I’ll save those. In the mean time…

Aloha,
Rick

PS I’ll post some pics of my model as soon as I have enough pieces banged together to enable you to see the design.

Aloha Rick, the significance for proas in the coming and going nature of the Hawaiian greeting escaped me until you pointed it out 😊  So thanks. And thanks for your detailed and entertaining introduction!

You wrote- “After a life as a working class chump, making money for other people, I got tossed and decided to reassess the meaning of life. Deep, huh? But haven’t you been there?”  haha, talk to me!

I also agree about understanding and the spirit of Russell’s proas. We don’t have a word for that but the Russians would say you “grok’ it. Looking forward to pics of your model when you have them.

Hi James,

Thanks for the welcome. I do grok “grok.”

But I did not know it was Russian. I thought it was coined by Robert Heinlein in his classic, Stranger in a Strange Land.

If I recall correctly, from his autobiography, he did visit Russia in 1967. That was before he published the book. (And I’m not sure you could call it an “autobiography. It was more like a book about him and his wife, their travels, thoughts on life, love, politics, et. al.)

Best,
Rick

You’re right, Rick. I was told it was Russian but it seems I was misinformed. I just tried to confirm it and found a good reference indicating Heinlein did indeed invent it. Or, at least claimed it was Martian!

“Coined by Robert A. Heinlein in his novel Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) in which the word is described as being from the word for “to drink” and, figuratively, “to drink in all available aspects of reality”, “to become one with the observed” in Heinlein’s fictitious Martian language.”
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grok

A good word, anyway, and very apt 😊

Yeah. A good word.

I see that Stranger was published in ‘61! I thought it was later. Great read.

Cheers

Welcome to the forums, Rick. We Martians need to stick together.