The Achilles Keel

Dmitri Orlov makes some of his typically thought provoking and inflammatory observations on “square boats”. He is no fan of the keelboat, that’s for sure. I only bring it up because we have plenty of interest in barge hull proas on the forum, and of course, proas avoid the whole deep keel problem by sticking the ballast out to windward - where Tangaroa intended.

What’s New in Square Boats

Junk Rigged Tacking Proa in Sweden

It’s not every day you find a junk rigged single outrigger yacht cruising the fjords of Scandinavia! This example is from Röda Möllan Sweden. Akka is 36’ (11m) of pure wooden proa porn, featuring a spindle-shaped hull with a NACA 0066 profile, schooner junk rig, Bruce foil (hydrofoil) equipped ama, hobbit house-like wooden interior and enough chrome and varnish to make a Riva jealous. See more in the Forums: Junk rigged Tacking Proa from Röda Möllan Sweden. Special thanks to Johannes for posting the thread.

The Proas of John Pizzey - Part 3

John Pizzey continues with thoughts on proa configurations.

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 and I will soon post a full description.

The Proas of John Pizzey - Part 2

John Pizzey, continued.

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 to incorporate it on one of my proas.

Proaler Skate

To remind us that not all proas are watercraft, we exhibit the 1958 Zündapp Janus. This tiny treasure is part of the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum, which is contracting with RM Auctions to liquidate its inventory, with just under 200 Microcars to be auctioned off without reserve over two days.