Slowly progressing on my tacking proa
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201826630615930&l=6c4e6abb12
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I am making steady but very slow progress on my tacking proa. I got the hull finished well enough to try it out with the outboard motor. There’s still a ton of work left to do on the sailing rig.
You might be able to see more pictures of the build by clicking one of the links and going through the album. Apparently I am not qualified to post the photos directly into this message.
Trent
That’s one good looking boat. One of the first rules of boat building is: “A beautiful boat is a good boat.”
What rig are you going to use? are you sure you will need that engine?? forget it at home you’ll have more fun…....
Bravo and good luck.
Nice!
Hi, I am planning to use a sunfish sail, but it will be rigged on a windsurfing mast instead of the normal way. My mast will have a Hobie Island roller bearing and furling drum.
I can’t wait it get the sail rigging done, the honda is annoyingly loud, although it does push the boat around 7.4 mph average.
I am currently debating drilling a hole in the cockpit to make it self draining. Testing revealed that when the boat is fully loaded the cockpit sole will only be about 2 inches above the waterline.
Trent
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202346459491327&l=1ed3cbb0b6
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Hi, got the sail rig sort of working, I still need to work on the rudder and leeboard.
Decks are painted and I went ahead and put in the cockpit drain as well as a coaming for the mast.
Trent
Trent,
Beautifully executed!
That reminds me of another green proa….
http://wikiproa.pbworks.com/w/page/14592494/Kevin’s boat
I have one question:
Why did you not make the akas go all the way across the ama? The bracing of the akas on the ama could have been taking advantage of the full width of the small hull.
Have you sailed yet?
Pictures are nice, videos are even better…. ;o)
Laurent
Could you explain how you developed (designed and built) the hull shape?
Hi, Laurent, when I was building the ama I decided it was good to have some flexibility in the connection. Then I made the akas too strong to really flex.
Tdem, for the tortured ply design a really good place to start is “Gougeon Brothers on Boat Construction” I bought a copy 20 years ago but if you google search you can download it for free in PDF format. It has a whole chapter on tortured plywood design and construction.
I kind of cheated and took a bunch of shortcuts on my design. The vaka hull panels are nearly identical to the Kir 7 canoe (do a search or see http://www.tacking-outrigger.com) except I increased the sheer a little bit. When I formed the hull I gave it more beam than the kir 7 design and also my construction method was not the same as shown in the plan for that design.
My boat is sort of “design as I go”. Frankly, I am not as smart as most of you guys here on this forum. I have spent nearly a year now working on this boat and it is not even finished yet.
I did get a chance to try the sail out yesterday as the winds here finally calmed down to 10-15 knots. I rigged an oar for steering and only dared to unfurl the sail about halfway. The boat actually seemed to sail pretty well without a lee-board and even seemed to have some weather helm. I was able to point upwind moderately well just using the steering oar.
I’m thinking now I might just make the rudder and try to get away without a lee-board.
Trent
hi Trent,
glad my website (tacking outrigger) was of use to some, if even in a small way. Your canoe looks like it will be much better than my attempt at a tacking outrigger. Hey if you build a boat similar to the KIR-2, then your all set to sail 400 miles from Tonga to Fiji.
regards
n peter evans
Actually I think few people ever “finish” their proa 😊
My boat is sort of “design as I go”. Frankly, I am not as smart as most of you guys here on this forum. I have spent nearly a year now working on this boat and it is not even finished yet.
Hi I got a Michael Storer cassette type rudder box mostly built and attached to the boat. For the foil I used the daggerboard from my Phantom sailboat (it is very much like a sunfish).
I got out sailing in 10-12 mph wind today and the boat appears to sail well without a lee board. It points upwind well and the helm seems fairly balanced. I did have some difficulty getting in irons tacking to starboard but found the boat would come around easily enough if I just jibed.
I had some problems with the outhaul line popping out of the cam cleat used to hold it, mainly when the boat was bouncing around in the chop. I hope I might be able to fix it by adding a pulley so the line has a better run to the cleat.
I had no idea the force on the outhaul line would be so great. It seems to be quite a bit more tension than the mainsheet. I may need to reconsider my choices for the outhaul line and cleat.
hopefully I won’t have to scrap the rigging entirely; it is very nice to be able to reduce the sail just by pulling the furling line.
My wife is demanding a much larger platform on the akas. I’ve taken her out motoring but realistically there is not enough room right now for 2 people to go sailing. Once I can get the rigging sorted and platform built I will attempt to make and post a video of the boat.
Trent
Hi,
Here are two videos I took while sailing the boat in winds around 6-10 mph.
The first one I am standing on the deck while sailing:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10202440917532719&l=8270469167803461313
The second video I try to show reefing.
Furling the sail is very simple and only requires releasing the mainsheet and outhaul, then pulling the furling line.
Unfurling the sail I was hoping to do simply by releasing the mainsheet and furling line, then pulling the outhaul. Unfortunately there is a little bit too much friction so i have to turn the mast by hand.
I guess it is not too bad as furling is the one that has to be quick and easy.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10202441043815876&l=92008583635563126
Sorry if is not the best, I was doing everything one-handed and holding the camera in the other.
Excellent. Everything seems to be really well thought out and organised.