I finally got my power proa and its trailer painted properly with 2 part poly. Some of you might recognize the main hull as Magic Hemple’s ama. (a ride is a ride…you get them where you can) The ama is (2)1 mm CM birch plywood. 80 lbs all up without motor. The 4 hp Mercury 4 cycle pushes it at 13 knots. I calculate that it gets 18 MPG at full throttle. I used to car-top it with the Honda Accord, but the truck I drive now is too tall, so trailer it is. I’m not good enough to sail a proa, but they sure make sense as a power commuter.
Any updates on this .. it looks like a great alternative evening boat with a Torqueedo motor
am sure. if I ever have nothing else to do I intend an upgrade to this design. probably all in developed plywood and with reverse bows.
Hi Kurt,
I really like the concept.
Can you see this as a tender to a large proa?
What LOA should be needed to carry up to 4 people (or 2+supplies)
Would it be posible tu set up a sail + daggerboard and use it as fuel saver if the wind is right?
If all this is ok: would you consider drawing plans? Cost estimate for the plans?
am working on a 3D model of an update to this unit. I was thinking only 2 persons as this unit. Larger is certainly doable.
The ama is 1mm ply, what about the Magic Hemple ama that is now the vaka on this ride? How thick is the plywood on that? 3mm?
amas are actually CM. (2) 0.5mm ply as I recall.
Main hull (Hemple ama) is foam/glass.
Lovely and sensible small boat, in fact, just what I too am looking for to fish around Moreton Bay, Qld. Australia. Don’t you just love nit pickers. If you phoned me and said what type of boat you had built, ie. a powered proa, in my minds eye I would have seen something similar to what you show here. So the name powered proa is an excellent descriptive choice.
jamikl
Does this mean I should be doing some plans? It will have reverse bows…
I would say to “profesor”that ancient sailing proa when is no wind is powered with padles, so no shunting necessary.
This proa is just proa in very special situation that we “forgot” to put sail and power it with outboard!
What profesor want? To use padles nowdays?
Cheers
Neno
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proa
“A proa, also seen as prau, perahu, and prahu, is a type of multihull sailing vessel.
While the word perahu and proa are generic terms meaning boat their native language, proa in Western languages has come to describe a vessel consisting of two (usually) unequal length parallel hulls. It is sailed so that one hull is kept to windward, and the other to leeward, so that it needs “shunt” to reverse direction when tacking.”
Kurt, you’ve completely missed the point of a proa, which is a shunting sailboat that keeps minimal weight to windward at all times. Actually, to be accurate, “minimal weight to windward” applies to Pacific proas; Dick Newick’s “Atlantic proa” CHEERS certainly qualifies:
http://www.wingo.com/newick/cheers.html
What is the intended use? (function and locality)
It is used for low impact sightseeing in the Pacific Northwest here.
Nice boat, Kurt. 13 kts on 4 hp–wow! Wonder what it’d do with really big power–say 9.9 hp? 😉
Seriously, did you need to pitch out the prop on the 4 hp to get that speed/mpg? Would you recommend so, for a larger engine?
Forgive me coming in late, but what are the remaining specs on the boat? LOA? BOA? Is this a great application of an old multi hull or what?
Oh, and of course it’s a “power proa;” that moniker has graced several dozen boats, including at least one Newick and a 200’+ commercial yacht. Methinks the proa police may have their underwear a little too tight.
Thanks for sharing!
Dave
Looks like a fun ride but it’s an outrigger, not a proa. Proas are double ended and go both directions, which doesn’t make any sense for a power boat.