Dream Boat?

A lot of ways to ask this..........
IF you could have any catamaran made what would it be?
Would that be a perfect boat for you or would you have to change it in someway?
Maybe you already have the boat now?

I get asked this A LOT (mostly by my wife) and my answer changes A LOT. Right now I think I'd like an A-Cat or a Nacra 20 (see how far apart I am! ).

What about you guys?
Greg

M or Eagle 20

I sail the Formula 18 (Tiger).

I would pick a 45 foot high performance cruising catamaran. I do not yet know which one yet but I like the looks of something like the Gunboat 48 that Pete Melvin designed. Oh...I may not be around if I had one though...South Seas sounds nice.

For racing I am on the boat that I like the most. Reasons:

1. Biggest racing class in the area with lots of talent.

2. Can sail with Eileen. A-Cat is a lonely ride. I-20 would be too much boat for us.

3. Have it set up in the yard ready to go. This could be any boat though.

4. Get alot of enjoyment out of taking others out for an evening sail. I-20 may be too much boat to take average sailors out for "just a ride."

Later,
Dan

Robi I'm disappointed! If I was into the racing scene, and more technical boats, I would pick your Blade! For my purposes I'd like a boat as durable as the old Hobies, but easy to singlehand, and have a small chute. Undecided as to whether I want boards for performance, or skeg keel for ease of beaching...?

I'm going to have to second Dan's wishes. However, I20 ranks a little higher for me....and the Gunboat, well, while we're dreamin' - what's wrong with a 60' Gunboat?

Brian, once dreams come true they are no longer a dream, they are reality. The Blade is a dream boat by all means. I wouldnt mind a M20 or the Carbon Eagle 20. For me those two boats are just unreachable at this point in time.

I also wouldnt mind a I20.

I think I know exactly what my dream boat looks like.

And I'm really serious here.

I'm with the others on wanting an A-cat for solo sailing and something with more beef for doublehanded racing or taking a friend along. I would love to sail a racer/cruiser multihull but these things require a crew of more than 2 people most of the time. And I'm had trouble enough finding one crew that is about as serious at cat sailing as I am.

Just like everybody else I want a light boat that is easy to transport and handle of the water. This also rules out some of the larger cruiser/racers. And I want to chase a dream that I can actually forfill some time. Otherwise a dream will turn into a torturing nightmere if you are not carefull. So the dream has to be affordable as well.

Personally; I truly feel that a Blade F16 with a good carbon mast, Ashby sails and a landenberger spi would come awfully close to my dream boat. I would love to see some in depth optimizing on the daggerboards done and then I think my wish list is empty.

I don't want to go lighter than 100 kg boatweight as that will only mean sacrificing stiffness and strength or paying alot more for hardly any speed increase at all. Besides I don't want to pamper my boat as much as some sailors do. I want to be able to get caught in a blow while on the water and survive the rough landing on a unknown beach. So now I don't want to get below 100 kg overall boatweight.
I also don't want carbon beams and booms as I find aAluminium alot easier to work with. And also incredibally cheap to replace when you've damaged either one. And again I don't see any advantages to having a carbon boom or spi pole apart from the ability to show off.

I don't want a carbon snuffer mouth as two of the best snuffer I ever used had alu rings (AHPC snuffer as on Taipans/Blade and the Stealth F16 snuffer). The alu is just smoother and more slippery then carbon. And why pay more for an inferiour product ?

I don't want more sail area as I found that the 15 sq.mtr mainsail, sq. 3.7 mtr. jib and 17.5 sq.mtr. spi is more than enough to get your adrenaline going. And I'm level with F18's already. I really don't see much performance inprovement over the whole spectrum of winds speeds by oversizing this rig. Pretty much what you buy in additional performance in light winds you loose in the heavier stuff. No net gain. Also why pull harder on a sheets then necessary. The adrenaline glan in my body only knows two modes. On and off. This threshold doesn't seem to be influenced much by sail area and alot more by windstrength.

I don't want a uni-rig (no jib) as these boat sudden max out in distance races when you not sailing pure upwind. Also the sloops remain better powered-up in gusty conditions, making it easier to maintain maximum speed if you are not a sailing god.

In addition to that. Blade has got the looks, the feel and the feasability of being owned by one of us normal folk. That is convincing enough to qualify as a wet dream in my book.

And I say all this in absolute honesty.

I know it is fashionable to name the A-cat or M20's, but in my personal case I like double handing team work and spi sailing too much to justify an A-cat. No A-cat builder will maintain warranty when adding a spi. M20, well their is no singlehanding that boat in any meaningful way, let alone racing it in that attire. And I do solo and solo race about 30 % of the time. Also I don't have 35.000 Euro's laying around to put my back at 15 kg's more strain as the M20 is heavier in overall weight. Also the M20 seems not enough faster to warrant that. Especially considering the addition costs in ensureance and replacement parts.

Some consider a combination of an A-cat and M20 to be the ideal setup. At a price tag of over 53.000 Euro's it darn well better be. However, I'm only looking at how to get both on one trailer or accept being really pissed off when you brought only your M20 and your crew cancels at the last minute. It is quickly getting a logistic problem. And what will you say to yourself when you decide to singlehand the M20 at an impossible rating (if the RC lets you get out alone and participate in the racing like that) and you get beaten by F18's and singlehanded F16's as you have to depower like nobodies business (= slow). Or when you brought your A-cat and the most competitive fleet is the F18's with quadriple the numbers of baots attending which is always the case overhere where I sail. There is simply no fair racing against spi boats when you don't have a spi yourself.

No indeed, it is fashionable to name the A-cat and M20 but in all honesty they aren't even that close to my personal dream baot because of very practical concerns and the related price tags. 35.000 and 18.000 Euro's.

Just give me a 14.000 Euro's Blade F16 and a good start or a lucky windshift and even I'll show them that money simply can't buy a win.


Ohh, I forget one thing that I like my dream boat to have. The underdog character.

If I loose then hey ! "I'm sailing the smallest and cheapest boat in the fleet, made out of glass"

If I win then hey ! "What is your excuse ?"

That is just my very personal take on the situation. I currently sail a wood-epoxy Taipan F16 and that suits me just fine. It is all that I hoped it would be when I decided to get one. I'm in no hurry to switch boats, my financial situation doesn't allow that. BUT, when I'm able again to produce expendable income then I'll be on the list for a new Blade F16. I'm estimating that that will take me another 3 to 4 years (medio 2008).

Wouter

Well, after 30 odd years of sailing and racing pretty seriously, I think I currently have something pretty close to my 'dream boat' - my Stealth F16. I'd possibly prefer to have the new 2006 model - but, hey, you can't have everything

My Stealth or similar F16 will do me until I'm into my 60's and then I'd like to spend all the cash that I'm sure I'll have accumulated by then - lol - on a Formula 40 and some 'rockstars' to sail with me!!!

An friend of mine is getting into the Volvo extreme project and a boat here costs 150.000 Euro's and participating in the year long cirquit is costing another 150.000 Euro's. Now you know what to aim for !

Wouter

For singlehanded sailing/racing:
An F-16. Either a Blade with carbon mast or a Stealth. If A cats had spi's, that would be a serious contender.

For two-up racing, distance races etc., the 'turbo'ed B class.

A 30-40 foot racer-cruiser to take the family sailing and some north-sea races. Preferably something fast while still manageable by the admiral (wife) and me when not in racing mode. I still drool over those Lock Crowther Southern Ocean 50's..

That brings the count to three, so I guess I just dont have _a_ dream boat but several..

http://www.mycq.org.au/ActionPhotos/050325%20Gladstone%20Start/Raw%20Nerve/IMGP0122.JPG
http://www.mycq.org.au/ActionPhotos/050325%20Gladstone%20Start/Wild%20Cat/IMGP0201.JPG

(The last image is not of an Southern Ocean 50, but a similar design)

Greg,
There was a time when I could have answered this question without hesitation and the answer would have been an A class.

This was before I sailed an off the beach cat with a spinnaker.

Now my wish list has grown to 3 boats and the A class no long makes the list.

Now of the 3 boats the first boat on my list is a light weight 16ft cat with a spinnaker that I would primarily sail by myself but could sail with my childeren from time to time.
Sailing one up with a kite is such a high and I get a great deal of pleasure out of sailing with my kids.

The other two would be a lightweight 20ft boat for 2 up distance racing that is trailable without tilting. This boat would have fold up carbon wings.

The 3rd would be a lightweight (under 700kg) 28ft Bay Racer with sleeping for 4 adults that could also be used for coastal sailing but comes home with me on a trailer and is rigged in under 2hours.
I don't want the maintenance or the worry of a boat on a mooring.

If I had all 3 then my wish list would be complete.

Regards,
Phill

I wonder if it will fit in a standard slip?

Or even a water front house in the intracostal waterway in FL? hmmmm

For me... The ARC 21 is killer but there are not very many around so I am always in the open(X) class.

#2 choice... T Boat.

?

No question.... Tornado.

Gunboat Baby! Leave the bouys behind, explore the islands with family, friends, and a blender full of rum drinks. A 48 would do, 62 is prefered...

http://www.gunboat.info/home.html

Come on guys. Open up your mind. This is your dream boat, your wildest fantasy.....

I was thinking something like a C Class on foils

Won't go wrong with one of these

Or this

Hey steve,

you've got to update your page man ! It is still talking about doing the 2002/2003 season on a boat that you have sold off a year ago.

Wouter

My dream boats would be

1, My new one that john and I are still planning (and waiting for the 17 to sell) - Single handed; wider than an A class with a little more mainsail and a Kite
2, ~20 feet long ~10 feet wide ~M20 size sails and shape
3, Volvo 40
4, Big ocean going racing cat/tri
5, Big crusing boat like "Le Grand Bleu"
6, Big ocean going Yacht from the Wally stable


Don't want much

Forgot I had a web site

Yeah we will update soon when we get some pics of the new boat and finalise sponnsor deals for the new season. Have a cool mpeg promo of our old T that I'd like to get on it to. Will have to work on a new one for the F-18 also.

It said "dream boat" not "dream boat with dream ground crew". My God Man. Those boats have got to be a PIA to keep together and even I will only go so far.

how about the cat in Thomas Crown Affair...
or...
ignoring the whole crappy plot issue, and with a different paint job,
the tri in Waterworld

The cat in the Thomas crown affair was (according to the IMDB was a D class :



The Tri in Waterworld was a re-painted (old) 60 footer.

OKAY, OKAY, This is getting way out of hand......
Maybe I should have been clearer? (Although this has been fun )

What if I said, "What will be your NEXT boat?"

I am trying to find out what you guys think is A) the racing cat you would like and B) the all-around fun /well-built family cat to have. When you get into the 200 foot mega-yacht I knew further explanation of what I was looking for was necessary.

Wouter, that was VERY interesting.... Thanks for really putting some thought into it. That's what I was hoping for!

Greg

Simon, I must read trough my collection of old "Multihulls" magazines to back up this, but I think the boats racing in "Thomas Crown" was Formula 40's (or Prosail 40's).

The tri in Waterworld was actually two identical boats, one rigged with the strange rotating rig and the other one with the traditional rig. In both cases, the full crew was sailing the boat from below deck!
Both boats was ordered brand new from France, and assembled in Hawaii before they was made to look 200 years old. The design was very hot and fast when delivered.

I remember "Multihulls" ran articles about both movies. Still have the issues in the bookshelf, but finding both would take some time..

next boat? A2 or NA F18.
Seems like the F18 class is the way to go these days.

"Thomas Crown" was on the TV here fairly recently and I really don't think they were F40's; these boats were not big enough. Also these boats sere using long hangling rack's for extra wrighting moment and I never saw a F40's with these over here (Full pelt had Hobie comfort type racks at the back for a while) but brosnan was on the end of a long "ladder rack" when they tipped it in....

Your present boat is not only faster its only 25-35 lbs heavier holds more and it just comes down to you to prove it through practice! F20 old school just won't go away.......N6.0 ,M6.0 ,H20 ,Hurricane 5.9, Supercat 20, P19 and so on,all these boats were and are dream boats . To spend 35,000 euros on an Marstrom 20 would be a nightmare not a dream. I am glad that boat is not the norm.

It seems this debate has already happened but the web seems to support the Formula 40 theory:
www.morrellimelvin.com/whiplashinfo.html
207.36.71.187/caribbean-catamarans/Avalon/crewprofile.htm
www.mailorderfoods.com/messages/messages/5/7673.html
www.marineteam.net

The use of "D-Type" rather than "D-Class" in the IMDB trivia makes one slightly suspicious. Nice D-Class pictures here.

They are Formula 40's. Here is the white one, and I THINK this is the other.

The boat in the Thomas Crown Affair was the Formula 40 Whiplashed and was skippered in the movie by Randy Smith. The stunt man on the rack also broke his arm during the fall.

The rack was added for cinematographic effect; that bone breaker was never part of the F40 class.

Wouter

Stephen,

Is Randy Smith any relation to Randy Smyth?

The most important features of a good hull are long length and low weight to reduce wave drag, so I think the M20 is going the right way, Just make it more durable, I would use some of the new composite materials that are being developed in the auto industry, to increase impact strength without gaining weight or losing stiffness.

Gareth

Off course not mate. Don't be silly. Their last names are spelt totaly different

I saw that boat (Paul Allen's) in New Orleans, LA. We were about to embark on our first cruise. While approaching the ships I was trying to figure which one was ours. I assumed our ship was the "smaller one" but realized later it wasn't a cruise ship after all. Damn that thing is big.

So my dream boat(s) would also be that but with a couple of A-cats and a couple of double handers i.e. F18s. You've got to have two each so you can set up your own racing.

Clayton
S27

after seeing the mocks this weekend at the annapolis boat show, I'm going to say, the Sig45 is my new dream boat.

The stunt man that fell off the rack now owns the boat! The boat has been racing in New England.

Just for info's sake(doesn't really contribute here) but the other boat was skippered by Roy Seaman.

Blade F16.

And the money to buy three friends F16's to race with

Flatlander has the right Idea, my dream boat would involve having about 4 and the nearby folks to race with.

Orange.

/thread.

id take orange 2 then. thanx.

OK, looks like I'm wrong about the TG. Was only quoting IMDB.

After having raced the Reynolds 33 this year I can suggest it as a "dream boat" for those of you mentioning larger boats and for those wanting faster boats. It is both AND it would also make one heck of a party boat as the tramp goes from the rear beam to the forward beam; around 27 feet or so. It also requires a "dream budget"! That is a big reason why my favorite boat often is whichever OPB I am on at the moment! Another one I raced this summer that is highly recommended is an F-25C. Very fast, responsive, yet very stable, and easily trailerable. For a more affordable option, I can attest that the Boyer Mark IV A cat is a dream to sail and handle ashore by myself.

Note: OPB = Other People's Boats

I agree: the SIG45 really hit me at the boat show.


NO compromise on performance (75 feet mast!), sleek, no deck pod but still decent accomodations. Looks gorgeous. You can fly a hull with this boat and reach 25 knots. Wonderfull design by VPLP which is a reference. Price at 600k, which is a lot but nothing compared to the other cats where you could not find anything decent under 1 Million. Ugly.
This is the trend: big fat boats, with huge comfort features, heavy, slow and sometimes not even looking capable to go outside the marina. In other words: big RV on the water. Otherwise classic (and beautifull) monohulls with a big price tag.

I could not find any boat 20-30 feet, sleek and affordable which would have shown that sailing is a popular thing.

Mike, Mike, Mike!

OPB is what you keep in your fridge and offer to your friends when they come over! OPB = other peoples beer. It ends up there after you have a party and everyone brings beer and leaves whats left. Of course you have to not drink it all beforehand. OPB is also what you have when you go to the party without bringing your own.

Talk about hijacking a thread!

Clayton

I just need to get one thing correct before I continue with the dream boat thread.

Someone mentioned that you loose your warranty when adding a spi to an A-cat. I haven't seen that note on any A-cat builder site! Actually I haven't seen ANY kind of rules for what you can or can't do with your A-cat and still have a valid warranty. Please check facts before stating such a thing!

The Marstrom A-cat is ok to use with spi since they sell such a boat already (M18). There is NO extra reinforcement on the M18 compared with the standard A-cat. The only thing you should check is that you get the angles correct between the bows and the end of the spi pole.

I don't have a dream boat, I look for a dream combination! Right now I have an A-cat with spi and a Hobie 16. Small boats means small problems, and the A-cat with spi is really tough to beat around the cans.

/hakan

OK- Hakan, you have us very interested again! What is the secret for angles between your spin pole supports and the bows?
I saw that the Marstrom A-cat of Bret Moss has quite long carbon fiber supports for his spin pole. I made the supports for my A-cat spinpole from my wife's aluminum ski poles, so they may seem too short: My fiberglass pole bends alarmingly but nothing has broken- yet!

In all seriousness my dream boat would be a brand new fresh off the line Marstrom built Tornado, with all the bells and whistles. OH MAN! talk about pure utopia.
Heres my dream lineup
All Marstrom Built:
Tornado
M20
A Cat with spin
Then of course:
Inter 20

My Boat - Blade F16 <--bottom of the list because I already own one.



This thread rocked!!!

The secret is how you load the bows and the main beam.

A pole that is extremely low will load the bows a lot when an "up force" is applied to the pole end and. A pole that is higher will create less loads on the bows.
Rule: Don't have the pole too low!

A pole that is way longer than the distance between the main beam and the bow will create a lot of compression of the pole, and that force will end up on the main beam. Rule: Don't use too long pole!

I use a 4.3 meter pole with 1.3 meter long support rods.

Check link for pictures:
http://www.webbo.dyndns.org/a-cat_sailing/spi/

/hakan

Robi,
IF you didn't already own the Blade, where would you put it in that list? Just because you already have the Blade doesn't mean it can't be your DREAM BOAT. My thread, my rules

I loved this thread too! I agree with Brian Mc. I like your Blade.

Greg

As the owner of a Marstrøm T (not a new one, a '94 model) I can ensure you that it's a sweet ride. If you get the opportunity, you should go out on one as helmsman.

If you are sent to Norway for some coast-guard training (what do I know, perhaps you do?) you are always welcome to go out for a spin. You will even get to helm!

The Blade and F16 is a great design lets not leed everyone astray as it being genuine giant killer's in uncorrected time. As long as you have people sailing the big boats ,20's you will never have an accurate measurement on the F16 or F18 . The handicap really has had so little time to develope.Cpt.Teneille.let er'rip! Except for money incentives from the big three>>>> Hobie ,Performance and let it be a toss up !

you know what, i really really like what i am sailing right now. a modified tomcat 6.2 that i built.

And that is EXTREMELY COOL!

Greg, You already know my "retirement" boat is that mono you posted pics of,( Sakonnet 23, designed by Joel White) that's for when I'm too old to sail a Blade! To be honest though, I doubt I'll ever own another cat. I am still in love with my Hobie 17 Super Sport, and I really love the H 16, 18, and 20 too. I know they are old designs, but aside from being heavy, they provide Heavenly thrills! I'm still longing to try a boat with a chute! Hopefully next season I'll either get out on Tedd's Inter 17R or John Smith's I 20, or Wally Machado's H 18! Great friends great boats! What a life?! Or as Tedd Duvarney so often says when we're at "church": "Life is good!"

An open 60..
Why so I could do the Sydney to Hobart and be in Hobart in time for lunch next day!!..

Hi Mate,

As far as Autralian High Performance Catamarans are concerned (builders of the Auscat Flyer and Boyer boats) they have a very clear warranty for all their boats wich you can find on their website.


A Class warranty link

Yeah but we'd all be dead if that happened.

Hell would have frozen over if they let a multi in the syd-hob.

just need to convince the cruising multihull club to hold a parallel race! Start a Km upwind and have someone in Hobart set a finish line..

Well this is a dream boat thread *chuckles*..

Why not just start 30 minutes after the last class? Then you can have all the fun of catching the Maxi's with your 'small' 60 foot dream-tri.

What would you do if Groupama 3 shared your starting line?

Groupama-3

I would take him up...HARD!

By the way, I have only sailed the A-Class this one season, but I don't think adding a spinnaker to this boat makes it better! It makes it heavier and more complicated. In light air, it makes it quicker. I am not sure it gets quicker with spinnaker once you can wild thing. The thing that makes my A2 my DREAM BOAT is that it is extremely simple to assemble, move around, and sail. I don't claim it is simple to sail well, just that you can sail it easily and simply. The next part of this being my DREAM BOAT is that I find that it responds to changes in adjustments of the outhaul, downhaul, mast rotation, mainsheet tension and traveller position. I have a lot to learn, and that fact makes my A2 my DREAM BOAT...plus it goes upwind like nothin' else!

Take him up, with 350 square meters of sailarea creating a very personal and nasty vacum for you to the lee??

I would very much like to see you yell "up-up-up" to them as you try it

The 60 footers are incredibly fast even in light winds, I think Groupama 3 will be even faster.

But if I don't do anything to him at the start line, when would I get another opportunity? If I am going to do anything, it will be at the start, yes?

Only hope I can see, is a boarding..
Seriously, when racing larger boats on yardstick we always look for free wind and fight for that. I guess that's what you would have done sharing the line with such a monster.
We have shared the starting area with some 60 foot tri's, and kept well away from them! They are _fast_ and _very large_

The largest boat I ever shared the starting line with is the RC27, and it was large enough to make you want to keep clear.

The A-class with spi is THE dream boat, and I have one!!!!

You gain about 30% of downwind VMG in higher winds if you compare an A-cat+spi with a normal A-cat. In lower winds the gain is a bit more.

Upwind you loose a bit, 5% maybe? How much you loose depends on the type of snuffer you are using and if you're using external or internal halyard for the spi. The "gain factor" between upwind and downwind is approx 2, that means if you gain 5% of downwindspeed with some extra gizmos and loose 2.5% upwind due to the gizmos you haven't gained anything during a complete lap.

You start to trapeze downwind in about 8 knots of wind, and in 18 knots of wind you must stand with the rear foot close to the rudder to keep the bow up. Use a chicken line or footstraps to stay attached to the boat.

I have several plots of downwind sailing with the A-class using the spi and in 16-18 knots of wind you are doing around 17-19 knots of boatspeed with an angle of 30° to a direct downwind course (15 knots VMG).

If you go wild thing without spi you will sail around 45° angle to a direct downwind course and the speed would be around 14-16 knots (11 knots VMG).



The course, one lap plotted:



/håkan

Barge the line

...I mean... who wouldn't? :P

Wellllll.. I think for safety they would start the fastest boats first.. Cutting one way thru a fleet of a hundred dead slow boats wouldnt be nice.. (Although lifting a hull above the mast tip of a maxi would be fun )

Add to the congestion issue is the spectator fleet.. Maybe a few thousand of various sizes and abilities (and when talking about abilities I mean the skippers with the booze content approaching 0.1%)..

Starting the big cats/tris a km or two down or upwind would be the best option.. But the spectator fleet is a huge issue and Groupma3 being cut in half by a drunk on his 75 foot palace isnt worth thinking about!!..

S..

Hey Stewart,

We're dreaming here!!! Remember, in a dream everything is perfect. The spectator boats are nicely lined up forming an alley for the racers to sail through. The larger boats are to leeward (no wind shadow there for the racers) and the smaller ones to windward. That also lets every one view the boats going by. Also as you would come up from behind the slower boats will meander over so you can pass w/o any trouble.

Oh, the alchohol consumption would not inhibit anyones ability to perform (we're dreaming remember?)

yea right! Dream on!

Clayton

Hakan, that is an excellent bit of data. How did you acquire it, please?

Regards,

Rob

I have on my hands a R33 (Reynolds 33) which is a fabulous boat and very fast, its awesome, but just to big for me as I am a dinghy sailor at heart. After being on this cat and sailing the MacGregor 26M, and sailing many other cats during the last few years I now can say I have experienced about all the sailboats I possibly can. I have experienced A-Cats, Tiger, F18 & 16, and so on. I am now back to my favorite the Hobie 16 and cruising on the MacGregor 26M with my family. I just love sailing more so than ever before with the great Hobie 16 fleet racing and my extended cruises on the MacGregor. I can’t imagine sailing getting any better than I have now! Heck all 4 of my kids are now sailing Wave’s and Hobie 16’s. Life is good!

Yes the Mac 26 is a fine boat.... with its water balast, ocean crossing capabilities and we must not forget the elusive 4th mode.

A very fine racer / cruiser. How could we forget the M26 in a thread about dream boats.

You should realy go see the guys at Sailing Anarchy. They are avid Mac 26 fans.

Anyone remember the big Macgregors? I think they where something like 60 or 70 feet long, and maybe only 12 or 15 feet wide. Fast, funny looking, but not "dream boat" material though.

HWSNBN?

I'd have to go with Russell Brown's proa, Jzerro. I know it's not exactly a cat, but at least it has two hulls.

http://www.wingo.com/proa/brown/jzerrophotos.html

How do you tack one of these beasts?

-Rob V.
Panama City
Nacra 5.2

seriously funky boat... must do a LOT better on one tack than the other. Do you figure that the one outrigger is really heavy- the equivalent of a keel?

Nope, same on each tack. It's a Pacific proa and has fore-aft symmetry athwartship. The outrigger is always to windward and you bear off and backup to tack. Not a buoy racer.

How does the ama switch sides? I read somewhere that they call it shunting. Is that what that means?

-Rob V.

Proas shunt reversing stem and stern - there is one rudder in each. I believe their best configuration is with the cabin (weight) to windward and the sails in the mainhull. Search for "harry proa".

Proas may be self righting (the one in the picture is). Conceptually the proa is lighter than any other multihull configuration. Unfortunately, proas need fore and aft hull simetry for shunting. They would be the best multihull configuration choice if it wasn't for this detail.

If you look at the website you will see that the Cabin with the main hull is always to leeward. The Ama can take on water for balasting. Up to about 500 lbs. That would be the equivalent of trapezing. It is a push me pull you configuration. Takes a while to get on the opposite tack. Great for long distances though. Taken from the old Polynesian ways. I would like to know the room below in the 33 footer.

Later,
Dan

Luiz, Jezerro is probably selfrighting to 75-80 degrees, but it can surely go over even with the pod. If it goes over, it's just as other multihulls, very stable (I suppose this was what you meant?)

There has been some argument over wether the pod is a positive or a negative. Russ obviously likes it, but others (who are into proas) think it may induce capsize instead of prevent it. I dont know but have most belief in the Harry variety.. Cool boats, but I have yet to see any in a long distance race results like Brisbane-Gladstone where it could have proven it's performance claims.

When proas are designed with that cabin protuberance to leeward and with a sealed (high flotation) mast, the idea is to make them self righting. But you are right, upside down it is even more stable.

Luiz

My dream boat is Luiz's reality boat...the Catri foil-assisted trimaran...

Mike.

Swan 601 or a Swan 46 or pretty much any Swan in the Med.

I'm curious. Why the Med?

Greg

http://www.lebreton-yachts.com/lebretonyachts.html

as an alternate: same kind of boat but a lot less expensive (actually half the price 300k vs 600k)

it is all about minimalism and no compromise on performance.

http://www.brestrider.com/home.htm

I like the lines of the Sig45 much better.

Me too.
I knew the Brestrider before the SIG45 came out. The SIG45 is definitely a better design. There are a lot of interesting innovations in it. And it looks fantatic. I would easily see a small steering pod/**** inserted on the center rear of the platform with all the instrumentation and commands.

Two words: neked girls....

Almost always a big plus!

Unfortunately, I still share your dream

But you can avoid my mistake and buy a boat ready to sail, doing no business in connection with the designer. He is broken and never finished delivering the plans. A real nightmare.

Luiz

The weather, food and of course the women.

I crewed on a Swan 60 a couple of times for my CEO at a company I worked for. Soooo Nice

Okay. Well. Hmmm.
I guess......... Sign me up!

But just so I'm clear....are these neked girls aboard or just swimmin' around the boat?
And just to be completely AMERICAN..... Do they have hairy armpits (cause that does nothing for me and the deal is off)?

Hi there
Thanks for the compliments on the boat - delighted that you like it.
The website is looking a bit better now.
All the best - happy sailing
Hugo

Revisiting the dream boat thread.

It seems like just a few weeks agao we did this.