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…
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…
A New 6m Cat From Pjoa
Cat 600 is the latest design from Pjoa, and their first offering that is not an outrigger! Like all their boats, the 6m long double canoe employs their highly evolved crab claw sail. Designed for day sailing and camp cruising, the canoe is intended to be launched from the beach and through the surf. Brimming with carefully considered details, the plywood stitch and glue construction will appeal to home builders.
See more here.
Minimus II Sea Trials
Minimus II is an interesting design project that is now undergoing sea trials off the Oregon coast. Designed by David Omick and Pearl Mast for comfortable, if minimal, ocean transport for two in the trade winds, the boat is also carefully and creatively designed to make a minimal dent in the wallet. While the 4-masted junk rig may be considered a bit over the top, there is a reason for the madness, and I admire their willingness to try…
The Bug-Out Boat
As I am confined to quarters for the duration, pacing the perimeter of my isolation in endless circles, my imagination is drawn to devices of freedom and escape. Freedom of the seas is a perpetually compelling and romantic idea so here I present a Bug Out Boat for 2020.
The basic concept is millennia old: tie (or ‘catamaran’) a few logs together into a rudimentary raft, build a platform above with some shelter and a device to catch…
LaShunk from Balkan Shipyards Update
Rael Dobkins of Balkan Shipyards sends us a video update on his shunting junk rigged proa:
WE MADE IT! The new proa rig from Balkan Shipyards. Pacific proa ‘Make
O’Break’, LaShunk rigged and showing off….. No secrets! Keep Shunting -BSY.
Congratulations BSY. Reconciling the world’s easiest handled rig to the world’s most difficult hull platform. Who’d a thunk?
Rael’s driving concern with this rig is shifting the CE (center of…
Wind Tunnel Measurements of the Performance of Canoe Sails From Oceania
In what is no doubt the longest headline ever at Proafile, The Journal of the Polynesian Society has published a paper by Anne di Piazza, Erik Pearthree and Francois Paille on their wind tunnel research results. Apparently inspired by C. A. Marchaj and his wind tunnel testing of various rigs of working sail, including the “crab claw”, the new study expands the range to a wide variety of Pacific rigs:
The primary objectives of this…
LaShunk - the shunting junk rig from Balkan Shipyards
Rael Dobkins from Balkan Shipyards has a new proa rig - a clever Chinese lug or junk designed for shunting. Rael hopes to combine all the traditional benefits of the junk rig, such as being easily reefed, single-handed, and cheap for the DIY crowd, with the requirements of shunting. Stay tuned to his channel to see how it all works out!
Thanks To Robert W. for the link.
LaShunk Proa Rig by Rael Dobkins
Pete Hill’s KD10 biplane junk rig cat
Pete Hill’s 33’ cat ORYX is now for sale. The 33’ plywood/epoxy design is a modified Bernd Kohler KD10 that features a modern aero-junk rig, according to the seller.
She is a seaworthy boat having sailed 40,000 miles from England to New Zealand via the South Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Tasmania.
I’ve built and lived aboard several over the last 40 years, and sailed 1000’s of sea miles. Oryx is the culmination of that experience.
The…
Polynesian Sail Performance
Gauging the performance of an ancient Polynesian sail by The Polynesian Society.
