<font size="2">My single outrigger sailing canoe borrowed many ideas from proas, but it also had a bunch of different ideas that didn't all work well. Or maybe I should say that I just tried to do too many things at once. Not having done an EC before, I envisioned setting everything up for some lengthy one tack legs. What I discovered in two attempts so far is that these races involve a lot more tacking, reefing, reconfiguring, etc. than I had expected. My boat had a water ballasted ama that could be emptied when it was to leeward. This worked well in moderate conditions but became a major distraction in heavy air. The boat was very quick in light air, which is what I sought in the design, and was also very maneuverable in those conditions and close winded as well. She used a single fully battened mainsail from an 18 ft beach cat and I added two deep reefs (could have used 3). But I also had a sprit boom, running backstays, and a single aka with a bunch of wires to keep everything together. It took a long time to set up and to reconfigure (she could have the ama to either side to make best use of a favored tack). Right, only I never really found a favored tack. With the ama to leeward she was a knot slower going to windward (it was only about 15 ft long) and the stresses were a lot more than with it full of water (about 250 lbs) and to windward. She was 23 ft long, 16 feet wide overall, and weighed about 320 lbs sailing weight with anchor and oars. She rowed well.
<font size="2">I think John Harris's new boat would be a better proposal, altho I would think with two people. I haven't seen the completed boat in person yet (just left the CLC shop before I stopped to see it), but my guess is that she would be up to the heavy stuff and would do well in it. Lot of windage though if you have to get it into some wind without sails. The proas did well on long tacks at sea; that's not normally what you get in watertribe events, but you do have options. Sometimes you just have to wait things out. She should be able to heave to at sea - how many Watertribe boats can do that? I know a person who used the new Harris design as a jumping off point to design and build a proa he intends to sail to the Azores alone.
<font size="2">My recommendation would be to keep it real simple and make it bulletproof. Be able to go to windward in 20 knots all day. My boat wasn't up to that, but I hope the next one will be.
<font size="2"><font size="2">My single outrigger sailing canoe borrowed many ideas from proas, but it also had a bunch of different ideas that didn't all work well. Or maybe I should say that I just tried to do too many things at once. Not having done an EC before, I envisioned setting everything up for some lengthy one tack legs. What I discovered in two attempts so far is that these races involve a lot more tacking, reefing, reconfiguring, etc. than I had expected. My boat had a water ballasted ama that could be emptied when it was to leeward. This worked well in moderate conditions but became a major distraction in heavy air. The boat was very quick in light air, which is what I sought in the design, and was also very maneuverable in those conditions and close winded as well. She used a single fully battened mainsail from an 18 ft beach cat and I added two deep reefs (could have used 3). But I also had a sprit boom, running backstays, and a single aka with a bunch of wires to keep everything together. It took a long time to set up and to reconfigure (she could have the ama to either side to make best use of a favored tack). Right, only I never really found a favored tack. With the ama to leeward she was a knot slower going to windward (it was only about 15 ft long) and the stresses were a lot more than with it full of water (about 250 lbs) and to windward. She was 23 ft long, 16 feet wide overall, and weighed about 320 lbs sailing weight with anchor and oars. She rowed well.
<font size="2"><font size="2">I think John Harris's new boat would be a better proposal, altho I would think with two people. I haven't seen the completed boat in person yet (just left the CLC shop before I stopped to see it), but my guess is that she would be up to the heavy stuff and would do well in it. Lot of windage though if you have to get it into some wind without sails. The proas did well on long tacks at sea; that's not normally what you get in watertribe events, but you do have options. Sometimes you just have to wait things out. She should be able to heave to at sea - how many Watertribe boats can do that? I know a person who used the new Harris design as a jumping off point to design and build a proa he intends to sail to the Azores alone.
<font size="2"><font size="2">My recommendation would be to keep it real simple and make it bulletproof. Be able to go to windward in 20 knots all day. My boat wasn't up to that, but I hope the next one will be.
<font size="2"><font size="2"><font size="2">My single outrigger sailing canoe borrowed many ideas from proas, but it also had a bunch of different ideas that didn't all work well. Or maybe I should say that I just tried to do too many things at once. Not having done an EC before, I envisioned setting everything up for some lengthy one tack legs. What I discovered in two attempts so far is that these races involve a lot more tacking, reefing, reconfiguring, etc. than I had expected. My boat had a water ballasted ama that could be emptied when it was to leeward. This worked well in moderate conditions but became a major distraction in heavy air. The boat was very quick in light air, which is what I sought in the design, and was also very maneuverable in those conditions and close winded as well. She used a single fully battened mainsail from an 18 ft beach cat and I added two deep reefs (could have used 3). But I also had a sprit boom, running backstays, and a single aka with a bunch of wires to keep everything together. It took a long time to set up and to reconfigure (she could have the ama to either side to make best use of a favored tack). Right, only I never really found a favored tack. With the ama to leeward she was a knot slower going to windward (it was only about 15 ft long) and the stresses were a lot more than with it full of water (about 250 lbs) and to windward. She was 23 ft long, 16 feet wide overall, and weighed about 320 lbs sailing weight with anchor and oars. She rowed well.
<font size="2"><font size="2"><font size="2">I think John Harris's new boat would be a better proposal, altho I would think with two people. I haven't seen the completed boat in person yet (just left the CLC shop before I stopped to see it), but my guess is that she would be up to the heavy stuff and would do well in it. Lot of windage though if you have to get it into some wind without sails. The proas did well on long tacks at sea; that's not normally what you get in watertribe events, but you do have options. Sometimes you just have to wait things out. She should be able to heave to at sea - how many Watertribe boats can do that? I know a person who used the new Harris design as a jumping off point to design and build a proa he intends to sail to the Azores alone.
<font size="2"><font size="2"><font size="2">My recommendation would be to keep it real simple and make it bulletproof. Be able to go to windward in 20 knots all day. My boat wasn't up to that, but I hope the next one will be.
<font size="2"><font size="2"><font size="2">Sandbagger
