No school like the old school
Venerable multihull builder, skipper, designer and author Jim Brown is treating us to a series of podcasts done in his inimitable style - recounting his personal stories and experiences spanning over 50 years. Subjects range from Woody Brown and the birth of modern catamarans in Hawaii, to storm survival, cat vs. tri comparisons, and even a few proa related talks. View and download the collection here at Outrig Media.
Photo: before he…
CataProa - a micro multihull by Bernd Kohler
Modern multihulls got their start in the 1960’s by being relatively cheap and embarrassingly fast when compared to the monohull sailing yachts of the day, and so attracted an enthusiastic following of iconoclasts. Since then, multihulls have cruised relentlessly up market - leaving the “cheap” aspect in the wake of history. Bernd Kohler is one multihull designer and pioneer who still appreciates the virtue of thrift, and his online…
It’s a Newick
OutRig Media has announced that the official biography of Dick Newick has just been published.
Dick Newick was possibly the 20th century’s most influential multihull designer. Now aficionados of multihulls – including trimarans, catamarans and proas – can enjoy reading his official biography. This book takes readers through his early years, including kayak building and sailing, and then traveling throughout Europe in the years…
Richard Newick’s first try
This is TRINE, the first trimaran design of Richard C. Newick. Still going strong as a day charter boat in St. Croix, USVI, over four decades later. Not bad at all for plywood, and a damn good first try.
Thanks to Bob W. at Boat Bits for the submission! If you have some shots of interesting historical multihulls, send them in! We’d love to post them.
Upstaged
Multihull designer Bernd Kohler has thus far been solely devoted to catamarans, but his latest design is for a simple small trimaran, logically named LITTLE TRI. I like Bernd’s work because he places simplicity of build and economy high on the list of design priorities, and yet still manages to come up with appealing boats. His latest is a classic example, where he sidesteps the usual trimaran complexities by employing a readily…
James Wharram Designs Mana 24
James Wharram Designs has a new boat on the drawing board, a 24’ trailerable catamaran that slots nicely between the venerable Tiki 21 and 26. The Mana 24 features some new wrinkles in the Wharram design evolution spiral, most noticeably a chined hull. The new design also features a cat ketch rig, which is well known on trailerable monohulls, and it is interesting to see it employed on a cat. No jibs means no head stay tension, giving…
RIP Richard Newick
Last night, Richard C. Newick, one of the great multihull pioneers, passed away. The father of so many brilliant designs, but to a proa obsessed mind, he stands apart because of CHEERS, the “giant slaying” proa of the 1968 OSTAR.
Dick often talked about how in a previous life he must have been a Polynesian outrigger canoe designer, and perhaps that is the best explanation for his gifts. We can only imagine what sort of vessels he…
Va’a Motu, a Tahitian Sailing Canoe
Gary Dierking has completed plans for his new Va’a Motu, a 20’ Tahitian-style sailing outrigger canoe. As usual for Gary Dierking’s work, the boat is a clever amalgam of traditional Pacific design and modern construction materials and methods. The canoe features a low, wave-piercing bow and a tall, upswept stern, wave-piercing ama, and a high aspect, fully battened marconi rig. Plans are US $135.00 plus $15.00 for international air…
The Proas of John Pizzey - Part 3
I started writing for Proafile because over the years I had seen several comments about this mysterious Mr. Pizzey! No mystery really, just a lack of information, so I thought I should rectify that and record my proa adventures. By the time I had finished putting pen to paper and thinking about what I was writing, my new design became clear as it had to meet the objectives I put down in writing. The design has been done conceptually…
The Proas of John Pizzey - Part 2
My introduction to modern proas, after designing, building and sailing my offshore catamarans, was aboard Tony Williams’ proa. It worked extremely well, was fast, fun and controllable but a bit complex in its rig. However it scored with no rudders or centreboard and was steered very effectively by the sail which was set on a spar with a central boom at the end of a gantry like mast. I grew fond of that sail arrangement and endeavoured…
