Quiquec - outrigger canoe
Browsing through Youtube I discovered this charming 5.6m outrigger canoe named QUIQUEC, uploaded and built by Norbert Rettig of Hockenheim, DE. The 12 square meter lug rig is wonderfully old school but the canoe moves very well even so, and the low center of effort would certainly be appreciated with the lovely torpedo-shaped low-volume ama. All the spars, ama and beams fit neatly inside the hull for storage and transport on the roof…
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…
Best In Show
Congratulations are in order for Larry Haff who won Best in Show - Contemporary Class at the Mid-Atlantic Small Boat Festival in St. Michaels, Maryland. He entered his cedar strip-planked Ulua outrigger canoe, a design of New Zealand based Gary Dierking. Via Gary’s blog: Outrigger Sailing Canoes.
A-Cat based trimaran from Lunada Design
Long time Proa File contributor Chris Ostlind is working up a new ultra-light, hybrid human/wind powered tri based on an A-Class cat hull. Now that’s what we call recycling. Chris says:
I’ve been pretty much out of the design arena for a little over two years now, so I was excited when I was asked to develop a set of amas for a fast hybrid function boat being built by my friend and multihull guru, Mike Leneman. Mike’s boat is based on…
Bit & Kontell Outrigger Pocket Cruiser
Yann Quenet has come up with a design for an 18’ sailing outrigger with some features we really like for a minimal multihull pocket cruiser.
Bit&Kontell 5.50: “Not really a cat or a tri or a proa, cruise freely combining storage volumes and light, and space for a kayak or various boards.”
He’s put the outrigger ama to good use, with the daggerboard and mizzen mounted there, as well as providing a big hatch and enough volume to carry…
Outrigger Junior from CLC
Quick on the heels of the proa Madness, John Harris of Chesapeake Light Craft has announced the new Outrigger Junior as the latest member of the CLC stable. A 15’ plywood stitch-n-glue sailing outrigger, OJ is car-top-able, beach-able, tack-able, build-able and afford-able, so maybe not so crazy after all. Special thanks to Proafile reader Brian P. for the submission!
Inspired by Warren Seamen’s Malibu Outrigger, this boat is truly a…
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…
Der Kanu Mann
Der Kanu Mann is René Richard Hohmann, a German boatbuilder/artist who is building Pacific proas like Stradivarius built violins. If you’re into wood working perfection and sailing canoes (and who isn’t?) then these examples are masterpieces. See more of his work at Derkanumann.de
There is a curious German affinity for the canoes of Oceania that perhaps harken back to an unwanted gift:
In 1900-1930, one in twenty of all postcards of…
Can your trimaran do this?
“Dr. Frank” Smoot is the ultimate DIY sailor. He began his sailboat design career in 2009 with this and has progressed to this in only two years. His latest is the most ingenious small trimaran I’ve ever seen. If he continues at his Moore’s Law rate of improvement he should be building America’s Cuppers out of plywood/epoxy in about 6 months.
I want to make it clear right up front that I am definitely not a professional boat builder…
Golden Gate mini camper
I found this electric-powered mini-camper by architect Jay Nelson at Tiny House Blog. I like the faceted, polyhedron style, all done up in plywood, plexiglass and epoxy. See more of his work (including a mini-camper boat) at JayNelsonArt.com
His “Golden Gate” electric camper car is made from a combination of plywood, glass, fiberglass, expoxy resin, bicycle parts and powered by an electric motor. The Golden Gate measures 96″x54″x64″,…
