Proa Sea trials

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Keith 66

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Over the last 2 1/2 years my son with a bit of help from me! has been building a Proa, Its a close recreation of a traditional Marshall islands outrigger canoe mostly built from recycled materials, the hull was cut & shut from the broken up remains of a 45ft Kelsall cat that had lain abandoned for many years at Benfleet.
First sea trials took place a few weeks ago in a light f 2, Yesterday we took the Proa out to the Ray for a second go.
Wind easterly about F 2-3 . He (proas are traditionally male) sailed remarkably well. Few teething problems to sort like the mast is far too thin & bendy but heh ho!
Spent an hour reaching back & forth from Leigh out to the ray before running back to Benfleet.
Utterly impractical as a sailing boat but the most fun you can have with your clothes on!
Full sail for first time.jpg
 
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Have you thought about traditional sails? The above ia a Melanesian Laketoi rather than a Polynesian Proa but very similar. I was fortuante enough to sail on a Laketoi near Kerema in Papua New Guinea many years ago.
 
Not really, the sail we have is a slightly modified genoa of a Westerly konsort that was binned, It is fairly close in shape to the Marshall islands proa's but probably too baggy to be of much more use.
Each island chain had its own type of canoe with wildly varying sail shapes. Recent research has found that the highly exagerated hollow in the leech actually has a self feathering effect on the sail in wind gusts as the spars flex, useful as the sails do not reef in a conventional sense.
In recent years canoe racing across much of the pacific islands has become wildly popular. Also strangely in Poland, Proas have recently become very popular where Janus Ostrowski has built many as a commecial undertaking, camping raids along the Baltic coast & racing take part & a good time is had by all. These proas are car toppable or trailable & range from 16ft to 20ft in length.
We were governed by the size of the donor hulls that were available so Slight return has come out at 32ft 6" rather larger.
 
We decided on a traditional one as it fitted the materials & donor bits we had available. I have read a lot about the harry proa & there are some big arguments online between the designer & many others. Just not our cup of tea really.
Biggest problem with these boats is what happens when, not if you capsize, 90 degrees is recoverable, An inversion is something else. There is a succesful well sorted proa sailed by Fjiordproa on you tube, it has a lot of innovative ideas & he has made the boat truly practical & safe to sail.
 
Well done! good lot of canvas up there!!!
I too started off with fixed vertical masts, then later I learned that canting masts make for a much more balanced boat, reducing weather helm and even enhancing running....

Respect to your boy!

Keep Shunting,
Balkan Shipyards
 
The only proa I have seen was the one built at Brightlingsea for a speed record attempt in the early ‘70s. I think it may have been called Crossbow. I only saw her, sorry, him, sailing at some distance, which looked impressive, but took a photo at a mooring in the Pyefleet.
 
Making a tri isnt the point, we enjoyed building it & still having fun learning how to sail it. Its never going to be a cruising boat but for a blast out on the river its the most fun you can have with your clothes on, If a trifle wet!
 
johnalison said:
The only proa I have seen was the one built at Brightlingsea for a speed record attempt in the early ‘70s. I think it may have been called Crossbow. I only saw her, sorry, him, sailing at some distance, which looked impressive, but took a photo at a mooring in the Pyefleet.
Click to expand...
I think Crossbow was built in Randall Leavett's shed on Woodrolfe Road in Tollesbury. Anyone know what became of her/him (never sure in this pronoun era)
 
Black Diamond said:
I think Crossbow was built in Randall Leavett's shed on Woodrolfe Road in Tollesbury. Anyone know what became of her/him (never sure in this pronoun era)
Click to expand...
The original proa-like Crossbow was designed for Timothy Colman by Rob Macalpine Downie and Reg White (designers of the Tornado) to compete in the then new World Speed Sailing trials at Portland in 1972. So it’s possible that she/it was built in Brightlingsea? At just over 26knots she broke the record that year.
Subsequently Crossbow II was built for Tim Colman at Tim Whelpton’s yard in Acle and broke the record in 1980, recording 36knots. This record stood until 1986 when a sailboard recorded 38knots.
 
The first to break 30 kts was Fred Haywood on a sailboard. I think that a piece of Crossbow is on the wall of the Royal Norfolk & Suffolk YC in Lowestoft in their Snug. Certainly a couple of articles, as the Colman family may have been members.
 
An 'Anglia Afloat' article dated 2015 interview with Sir Tim Colman on the interweb indicated that he still had Crossbow 1 in storage in a barn at that time, was built by Reg White and said he hoped someone might restore it one day even if only for a museum, so maybe a project for Keith66 if it still exists. Digging deep in the memory the various Sail Craft yards at Brightlingsea were big enough so most likely (Photos of British Oxygen 70 ft launched 1974 at Brightlingsea possibly from the Aldous shed area) but they would have been busy building Iroquois Tornado's etc at that time, so might have built Crossbow in Tollesbury if that is what Black Diamond recalls . Confirmation would be interesting. Seem to think I remember it on the hard - but so many big fast cats then - should have taken photos. Robert at White Formula will remember. Article indicated Crossbow 2 built by Tim Whelpton near Acle.
 
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