Hawia 5-0

[ProaSailor]

Originally Posted by upchurchmr

Gentlemen,

Lets not get stuck on the perfection of Wikipedia.

What would you call the "Atlantic" proa, Cheers, designed by Dick Newick. It shunts, but the hulls are equal length, the small one is not heavy (instead it is bouyant), and it really kicked ass in the 1968 OSTAR.

Is there anyone besides Wikipedia suggesting it wasn't really a Proa?
http://www.wingo.com/newick/

Marc

CHEERS certainly is a proa, no doubt about it - I see nothing in the wikipedia definition that says it's not, do you?

The defining feature of the proa is that the vessel "shunts" when it changes tacks; the stern becomes the bow and vice versa. The same hull is kept windward for ballast.

As it says, the primary characteristic of a proa is that it shunts so is capable of traveling with either end forward. The secondary characteristic addresses the reason for shunting, which is to always keep one side of the boat to windward and the other to leeward.

A third characteristic is that proas usually have two hulls; CHEERS meets all of these criteria.



Length of hulls and rig placement are not critical to the definition of a proa.

Stretching the definition a bit, even this double-ended sailing ferry has the essence of a proa - bi-directional and oriented to the wind - though it is basically a barge:



One way boats are not proas. Anyone who says they are is just creating confusion. Neither are power ferries like the old M.V. Islander, which is bi-directional but indifferent to wind direction.