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Proa Rig

When starting to build this boat I was so proud to announce that it would not have a mast, rudder, or fin keel and no moving parts below the waterline. Well, early tests did teach me that sailing with a kite close to shore is not always possible, but with a “normal” sail it is. Therefore I decided not to be so attached to the idea of no mast and give AIVIA a sail, as a backup, and or to sail in and out of the harbors. As it had been simple, I got convinced to try Windsurf Sail the prototype. One could have known that it would not work well. Windsurf sails are made… Read More »Proa Rig

Addon Boatbuilding

After the second boat lunch party in August 2022, there have been a lot of little addons that needed building which I have been working on until September 2023: This has been quite some work while moving the boat, and the workshop a few times (from summer 2022 to summer 2023), and testing little things. Well handling the little setbacks and reality checks which often told my fearful self, that there is still more work to do.  A brief list of things I still like to do before sailing longer distances are and have not done jet at the point of writing:

Big struggle, great learning

The struggle and overthinking with a project like this might be a given thing but living through it and writing it down is tough for me. The first kite sail test had been a major reality check, I could have enjoyed that moment, and taken it as encouragement. But my expectations, my mind had already sailed off. The fear of the hulls coming apart due to a loose lashing and the boat falling into its components while under the forces of the waves, weighed me down. Adding to this were the failed kite sailing tests when there had been insufficient wind to flay that particular 14qm Tube kite. Also, the realization that even with a… Read More »Big struggle, great learning

Kite Sailing

Finally the first proper kite sail. That was fun! It worked super well until the lashing got loose, which when we made them where rather temporary. We did not have a kite rig jet. The kite was just attached to a person and depending on where the kite pilot was sitting the proa would adapt its course. To shunt the kite pilot just had to walk into the middle and then the other side end of the proa. Unfortunately, we could not test for very long – two shunts – then the lashings were getting very loose and could have slipped off in which case the hulls would have fallen on their side. So we… Read More »Kite Sailing

Kite Proa building (1)

After the workshop had been set up, the materials ordered, and the first massive triangular piece laminated a friend told me – maybe build a smaller one first, like a 2m model, and then a bigger one. So I reconsidered, drawing a beautiful 6m version in one day. 6m as I did not see any point in building something which I could not float on. But then I thought well 6m is not that small this could be sufficient for some longer sails. Re-reconsidered to make it a little bigger and giving it more volume. I started to build and liked it so much I added features, it could have a kitchen, it could have… Read More »Kite Proa building (1)

Kite Proa Prototype Nr.2

After lots of thinking, drafting on paper, and some weeks on the CAD, I am finally getting to the planning of the build of my second kite sailboat a kite proa. With the big dream in mind of creating a sailboat concept that is economical and ecological to build and suitable to be used as a sail ferry. The kite proa boat design aims to make better use of the wind than the traditional mast/mono or multihull concept. For me, it would be great to have the choice, to travel across oceans without climate pollution. Step by step I am planning to scale up the prototypes to get to the different sizes of different sail… Read More »Kite Proa Prototype Nr.2

2021 Kite Proa

Kite Sailing Prototype Nr. 1 Early 2021 I build my first Kite Proa. With the dream in mind to build a boat myself I stumbled across the stitch and glue method which I thought was great. A quick CAD drawing gave me a geometry to cut out and “stitch” together. It looked so go that I decided to just extend it to 5.8m long to be my main hull. First I thought the parallel midship is a great idea – being simple to build and very scalable. Later this turned out not to be the case. It creates more drag and a curved section is stiffer and nicer to work on. This I could see… Read More »2021 Kite Proa