Biplane AeroRig Cat?

Sound advice Rob.

 

Rob,
You're gonna have to show us more about these biplane rigged cats that you're building the masts for!

Two piece mast? hummmm ..... interesting, like a windsurfing mast is 2 piece.

Unstayed I like for oh so many reasons. I went for a short training paddle session and my friend's hobie16's mast had fell at my launching site. a failed stay maybe? anyway not good! With an UnStayed mast I'd not have those kinds of problems!

a taller and bigger rig. Yes, for performance it is all good, but I have to be able to handle it by myself in nasty conditions at low bridges. the hinged mast feature is interesting and maybe solve those problems?

I'd not be hiked out, can't do that with a biplane rig on my boat anyway, but it's the reason I want to extend the beam from the normal 8 out to 10 feet. Maybe even have a small wing to extend out farther?

the portage. the sidecar idea is cool! but I want to stay as narrow as I can. It's a two lane road, small shoulders and has logging trucks running all the time. I want bad kitty at 3' or under and the proa would have to do the same.

30' proa. the upper reaches of the St. Mary's river is tight and twisty, and at night the competitors usually stop because they can't get thru and that's in a kayak! Also there's the portage at Big Shoals. I'd not be using the boat switch rule so I'd have to be folded up for getting thru. I'd also be folded for the transition to portage mode and the boat would have to be steady on her own so I could be set with ropes to drag her out. I really need to scout stage 4 to know if it's possible with a boat this large. The team of Sandy Bottom and SOS on the wooden tri "Mosquito" did have plans to run the course via the original rules but the low water changed their minds and opted out for the boat switch ruling, even with the kayak they camped for the night instead of fighting the jungle in the dark.

a 30'ter with removable ends.? could you explain that? I don't think I got the right mental image of this.

Schooner rig. I like the shallow water benefits! I also like the bunk idea. I do plan on sailing solo most of the time, but with the proa it is possible to carry a crew member but finding another mental nut case for the ufc is difficult but if lucky I could do it.

and so it seems I keep drifting back into proas ...... but the rig would be pretty much the same anyway. Unstayed, easy to de mast, reefable, etc. so I'm kinda still on topic, right?

 

You might have a look at Kevin O'Neal's proa over at wikiproa--he's got it pretty dialed in. It's about 20'

Dan

 

thanks for the link dan, that should keep me busy for awhile!
http://wikiproa.pbworks.com/w/page/14592450/FrontPage

and last night I registered for the forums here
http://proafile.com/
but still waiting back to become officially registered.

time to get some reading done!

 

Not much I can show at the moment as there are no drawings i can make public. Attached is a photo of the mast mould, but that is about all I can show. The hinge is simple, but there is a lot of engineering and structure required, complicated by internal halyards exiting below the hinge. Much less complex on a little boat. The mast on my 25'ter is 90mm/3.5" diameter.

Should do. The trick for fast and simple raising/lowering is to have the hinge above the boom and strong enough that no side support is required.

I would go with the wing and keep the width 8' to reduce beam stress/weight. Make them folding so you can get through the filter bridge. If you can't sit to windward of the sail, you are very likely to have righting moment and sailing problems, even with the wider beam.

The minimum portage package would be 18' long, about 4' 6" high and as wide as your shoulders (sleeping space) plus the wheels width, say a little over 2'. Maybe extend the axle for more stability. Rough estimate, it would weigh about 150 kgs/330 pounds, plus payload and crew. My 25'ter weighs 120 kgs/265 lbs with one rig and could be lighter. Add another 50 pounds for the second rig.

Let me know some weights including you and everything that will be on board and any special stowage requirements and I will refine the sketch. Any idea of the specs (weight empty and loaded, dimensions, sail area etc) of Mosquito?

The sailing beam would be 10' (depending on rig height/sail area) and would be easily adjustable down to 6' without getting off the boat. At this width, you would be able to sail, sleep in it, paddle and/or pedal your water prop. Minimum overall width is your shoulder width, plus an inch, which may be a little tippy and would require some assembly/disassembly.

The end 6' is hinged at deck level and the ends are folded back onto the deck of the long section, leaving you with an 18'ter for portage, or a 24'ter for paddling tight places. Everything is sealed with watertight bulkheads so they can be hinged afloat. There are a number of ways to hold them in place. I like a line to a block and tackle, but on the 50'ter we are building, the 5' ends (so it will fit in a container) are bolted on. The line method is quick and the folding up could be done while afloat from the middle of the boat.

The UFC is out of my league, but would love to do the EC on a proa.

Kinda, but once you sail the proa you will ask yourself why you bothered with the cat. ;-). No matter what you do, an 18' cat will not beat the Tornados in the EC. Once you know how to sail it, a 30' proa should, based on the numbers and my experience.

Proa forums are a laugh a minute. Lots of history, some of it unpleasant. http://proafile.com/ is a new one, started recently by people who couldn't handle the pace at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proa_file/?yguid=312404726 which has been going for 12 years or so. The web page associated with proafile has lots of interesting stuff, but the conversation and membership on the forums is limited. Another page with a lot of info on specific proas is http://www.wingo.com/proa/links.html Harryproas are discussed at http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/harryproa/?yguid=312404726 and specifically not discussed at proafile.

rob