Russell Brown designed proa for sale
Areté (ex CIMBA, Pacific Bee), a 38’ Russell Brown designed Pacific Proa is for sale. The ply/epoxy boat is said to be in excellent condition and ready for its next adventure. Currently lying in Chilean Patagonia, at Chiloé Island.
Length: 38’/11.6m
Beam: 18’/5.5m
Displacement: 5512 lb./2500 kg
Launched: 1984
Overall condition: Excellent and ready to go.
Notable voyages: Chilean Patagonia, Chiloe Island, Fjords several times.
Proa Rig Options: the Biplane
I’ve asked Robert Zabukovec to contribute to the Proa Rig Options section on Proafile with an article on the biplane rig he invented for SIDECAR. I’ve long been fascinated by biplane rigs, however my interest has always been limited to catamarans, not proas. Who knew? Robert’s thinking on the subject exploits the lateral asymmetry of the proa to advantage, creating a rig that is not only fast and easy to shunt, but also remarkably…
Comparative Analysis of Multihulls
Robert Zabukovec, the designer/builder of SIDECAR who’s story was published in the previous article, has kindly agreed to share some of his design methods with us here at Proafile. These are tools that anyone with spreadsheet or CAD software can use. —Editor
Comparative Analysis
Most sailors regard proas as weird and freakish, and a few, the most wonderful thing in sailing. Proas have a mythical fantasy status, but they are just…
The Proa Sidecar
It was a great pleasure last week to open an email from Robert Zabukovec, who proceeded to share his experience sailing an astounding proa of his own design: SIDECAR. Why astounding you may ask? Proafile gets a lot of “unusual” sailboat ideas sent along over the years and I like to think I’ve seen it all, but this is the first time I’ve seen a shunting biplane proa rig. The unusual rig works well and the canoe is beautifully…
Proa Takes Land Speed Record
A proa takes the record!
Team New Zealand have smashed the wind-powered land speed record.
Glenn Ashby piloted the radical land yacht Horonuku to 222.4kph (138mph) in just 22 knots of wind on Lake Gairdner in South Australia on Sunday evening.
Conditions finally aligned to better the long-standing record of 202.9km/h recorded by Britain’s Richard Jenkins on March 29, 2009.
Daikon - the Raid Proa
Blair Cowan reports on progress building and sailing his 21’ lug rigged schooner proa. The construction took one year, from May 2021 to May 2022. He has sailed the boat all season and plans to sail the Texas 200 in 2023 and next year’s Everglades Challenge. Blair writes:
DAIKON - The raidboat proa. A shunting outrigger canoe built for inland lake sailing and coastal adventure camping. The 21’ self-bailing Ojibwe-Chippewa inspired…
Keeping the Proa in Epic
Ryan Finn has successfully completed his epic voyage from NYC to San Francisco, around Cape Horn, single-handed, in a 36’ plywood/epoxy proa. 93 days after departing New York, he sails into Frisco, under the Golden Gate, flying the ama by Alcatraz, and finally docking at the Richmond Yacht Club.
We proa fans can’t help but feel a bit proud. Well done Ryan.
Jzerro was designed and built by Russell Brown, right here in Port Townsend.
2 Oceans 1 Rock, Around Again
UPDATE 3/17/22: Ryan Finn has rounded Cape Horn yesterday, 3/16/22 in the early AM hours, according to his FB post and the tracker. Congratulations Ryan! A great accomplishment for the sailor and also for his proa, JZERRO, originally designed and built by Russell Brown. Cheers!
1/20/22: Ryan Finn has started his second try at breaking the New York to San Francisco sailing record (solo no less) in the JZERRO. The proa departed NYC on…
The First Proa Only Race
Nicolas Duchein is organizing the first proa only ocean race ever, called the CHEERS Challenge. Set to start 01/03/2023 (I assume that means March 1) the race course circumnavigates the Caribbean islands of St. Croix and Martinique.
Note: This is not actually the first proa only race because many proa races have been held in the Pacific in recent years for instance, the Majuro Day canoe races in the Marshall Islands. Maybe the first…
Madness Rides Again
The new owner of MADNESS has submitted some recent pics and videos of the 31’ proa doing his thing on Chesapeake Bay. MADNESS is a plywood and epoxy Pacific Proa design of John C. Harris. The plans are available here at CLC Boats. He says:
Proa MADNESS has been back in the water for 1 year and logged approx. 300 NM.
Max speed so far has been 17 kts with average speed being 8 to 10.
The video has some great footage of the lee pod…
