I have an armload of short observations.
First, the Bieker proa I saw under construction, and noted how odd it looked? It was only the aft or forward half of the proa. I see online it has its other reflected half added. No idea why that was done, building a front and back half apart. Global loads and all.
Still no word on Forespar forensics on the Sarabi mast.
People seem to think lifting foils are something new and cutting edge. No. Recall my picture here earlier of my friend Howard Apollonio on his foiler in the 60s. What is different is the astonishing wealth spread has let many more multi sailors make carbon fiber boats. Not every boat can get up on a foil. Carbon makes a multi light enough to be a possible lifter. Also, like politics, one snappy picture or scrap of video does not make it always that way. Here in the Northwest there are kelp beds everywhere. Tough to foil through those.
Prices on my USCG certified designs will probably have to go up considerably. I used to rail about the USCG amnesia way back in the 90s. It seems to be back. I have certified some 50 cats to ABS ORY. With the most recent submittal I was asked why I chose to use that Guide…. We could be going back to the days of a designers main job being running an unpaid Berlitz school for coasties.
In 30+ years of boating and low double digit interaction with the CG nothing good came out of them. They defaulted even on a face to face promise of a 5 gallon of gas when I got stupidly stranded for a few hours (somebody else helped). I also saw 100 people get wacked in Pago Pago after they denied a tsunami threat with the water receding and an 8 magnitude earthquake. Fines 10k+ on my friends on bull with no court in Chicago (St Louis the closest). Bottom line they don’t have enough boat people (people that had/have boats etc) to change the culture. To some extend the Navy has similar problems.
When the truck drivers where in recession a few years back the State Police hired them as full time police consultants (the ones with a lot of experience). Nothing like that happened on the water.