It seems that I have caught the bug.  It started with the introduction of Madness. It got worse after I saw Paul Bieker and Russell Brown give a presentation at the Northwest Multihull Association.  Jezero is also moored nearby and has always aroused my curiosity even before I knew what she was.

I’m looking to build a mid-sized proa with offshore capabilities.

-jak

Hello Jak and welcome!

Is that presentation you referring to the one that everybody was hoping to get a report on?
Any debriefing you could put together for all of us who were not there?..

Cheers,

Laurent

Most of the information from the Northwest Multihull Assn. talk has probably been posted here or elsewhere.

Russell gave background on proas starting with some pictures of Polynesian craft.  Amazing voyages on craft made of logs, sticks, hibiscus bark rope and the like.  The gist of this was the light loads found on pacific proas versus cats, tris, and and many monos.  He then showed slides of his various proas up to the present and gave some of his sailing history.  Apparently Russell and Paul made a trip to San Francisco some years back on Jzerro.  They hit a major storm of of Mendocino, California.  There is a cape there that is notorious for very large seas during gales.  It sounded like they ran off streaming rodes and came out of it fine. Another fine recommendation for Jzerro

Paul gave a rough outline of the project he and Russell have been working on.  The client hoped to do the OSTAR, though I have read in other places about the Jester Challenge.  I believe that the wire frame drawings of the 32 foot proa are on the Bieker Boats website. He also showed the polars that had been worked up and emphasized the proa’s outstanding windward abilities. Unfortunately the client had a serious accident and the project was suspended for a time.  There is probably enough interest in the community that the design will go forward. Paul mentioned plywood hulls and foam core for the decks and pod. The building of the pod has been simplified. A single form/mold can be used for all the pod’s curved surfaces. I believe that a lot of thought was going into the ama.  It apparently is a bit longer in relation to the hull than Russell’s other designs. Also, there is a lot of attention to the placement of the stays for maximum pointing ability.  I hope that I am representing the design accurately.  It has been a couple months and I may not have all the details exactly right.

Cheers,
-jak

proas are fine !

but for an ostar ..... or any single handed cruising boat >
we would need a way to have this guy sailing it >
a boot to sail by it self !

safely and surely ....

and this a traditional proa can not do !
period ....

and a lee pod is more of an introduction to a swell capsize >
then a hinderance .... and the catastrope from a freak wave is the main issue !
http://www.proatech.org > wave

since wind loads can be managed ..... 
we need some new technology for this >
the polynesians could never have >
never needed it > because of their crew size !

and the .... risk factor .... was not an issue ....

http://www.proadesign.com