Here’s the one and only video I’ve found showing a traditional rig shunting. To make it more impressive it’s being single handed and is 40’ long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7STbtvY9KU

It is shockingly hard to find details on what has worked for builder/sailors who have traditional crab claw shunting rigs. Things I’m wondering about include:

*Backstay/Forestay: options for making them moveable yet solid. Obviously there’s pulleys and cleats but just as obviously those were not necessary to the polynesians.

*Halyard: this seems one place where a pulley is a very good idea?

*Placement of stays. Ie Should the windward and leeward stays be placed inline with the mast or somewhere else?

Mast length and yard length: better to have the yard drag along the gunwhale or make an arc above the gunwhale?

Ways of dealing with the sheet during shunts.

Any insights into some of the “secrets” of making and sailing a shunting proa would be most welcome.

Great pictorial on Chris Gill’s T2
http://grillabongquixotic.wordpress.com/2011/07/02/a-report-on-my-version-of-gary-dierking´s-t2-pacific-flying-proa/

I have a photo/drawing collection of 60 ancient outriggers. Perhaps you will find there some answers (or a lot of new questions 😊).

Thanks very much, othmar.

I wonder why some use many stays to windward while others use a forked stay and some a single stay?

http://www.multihull.de/proa/history/Marshall_Jaluit2.jpg
http://grillabongquixotic.wordpress.com/2011/07/02/a-report-on-my-version-of-gary-dierking´s-t2-pacific-flying-proa/

Edit: Othmar’s description of mast bending makes me think the many stays to windward are to decrease the mast bend. I still wonder about forked stays though. http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/02/articles/p5/index.htm

How about an on site proa wiki ?

Kevin O’neill is already doing something along those lines.

http://wikiproa.pbworks.com/w/page/14592450/FrontPage

I understand he’s recently been working on re-hosting and cleaning it up.

Tom

Hi Adam
Some year ago I bought from a german university two VHF videos about traditional proas. One is about proas on Gilbert Islands from 1963, one about a proa on Santa Cruz Island from 1966. Originaly they were made on 8 mm films, transferred to VHF and I copied them to my laptop. The quality is not good, but you can see how they rigged and shunted in these boats. I uploaded them to youtube:
Proa Santa Cruz:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2qOs00Zmro&feature=youtu.be
Proa Gilbert Archipel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuNMuR-dXlM&feature=youtu.be

I hope I could help you
Alexander

Thank you for posting these wonderful videos, Alexander

Fantastic video stuff, thank you for this authentic material.

That’s really great for ideas and inspiration, Alexander. Thank you!