70' Cruising Proa....Big Red Yacht

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Happy

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Currently cruising in my area is a 70' Pacific Proa called Big Red Yacht, formerly named Gaia's Dream. Watched them crossing the bay for a while hoping to see a shunt but they kept going towards the islands. The boat is fast.

The original rig had a mast that shifted fore and aft for each shunt, but the designer changed it to a fixed mast. Current owner is happy with the boat.

Google Gaia's Dream Proa for the interesting history of the design and build. Intended to carry 5+ tons of cargo, plywood build. After completing the boat, designer Ini Wijnen had a major life change and is now Yvette.

Go to Big Red Yacht on FB to see what the new owners are up to.

 
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offtherails

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Watched it sail on Pittwater, Sydney NSW in the past.  Yes it was fast, as you'd expect from a big boat, but shunting took forever and tacking angles were BIG numbers,  so my guess is that if they kept going towards the islands, that might just be a case of "cast my fate to the winds" rather than a considered choice?

 
H

Happy

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New owner has sailed up the East coast from Sydney, hasn't reported problems with shunting. The boat is intended for medical missions to the Louisiades, but the Covid has stalled that for the time being.

They pulled into the fuel dock in the marina and answered another proa question: Tied up with the small hull dockside, big hull outboard.

 
Sidecar

Sidecar

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Happy said:
New owner has sailed up the East coast from Sydney, hasn't reported problems with shunting. The boat is intended for medical missions to the Louisiades, but the Covid has stalled that for the time being.

They pulled into the fuel dock in the marina and answered another proa question: Tied up with the small hull dockside, big hull outboard.
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I have a friend who is an eye surgeon and does a lot of pro bon work around FIji and Tuvalu. He has been talking about a big multihull to get his kit across and move around the islands for years. I sent him details of Gaia’s Dream when it came up on the market.

Glad to see it is still sailing and being put to good use.

I tie up my boat the same way:

B5111C18-340B-49D6-9B56-4B6DC51D134B.jpeg

 
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PIL66 - XL2

PIL66 - XL2

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I just don't get it, I never have and just can't be convinced ..... I'm into bikes and It's a bit like Harley's.. they aren't efficient as bikes but many get sold .....  I'm just happy others are into weird shit I guess
To each their own

 
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Sidecar

Sidecar

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Happy said:
Not really weird or shit, just different from what you're used to.

Back in the very early 70's, my Wharram cat was considered weird shit. 
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It also depends on what metrics you measure efficiency by as well....... Best quote is from this proa designer/owner::


“For me proas represent an alternate reality to mainstream sailing. They trade transverse symmetry for fore & aft symmetry and in doing so enter a different world of possibilities and constraints." - Paul Bieker. (Naval architect and engineering, member of Team Oracle USA.)

 
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Russell Brown

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PIL66 - XL2 said:
I just don't get it, I never have and just can't be convinced ..... I'm into bikes and It's a bit like Harley's.. they aren't efficient as bikes but many get sold .....  I'm just happy others are into weird shit I guess
To each their own
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No one is trying to convince you, but as far as efficiency, a good proa is the ultimate sailing machine. As a concept they are about as far from a Harley as you can get. Not all of them look like a football either.

 
ProaSailor

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Dex Sawash

Dex Sawash

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Sidecar said:
I have a friend who is an eye surgeon and does a lot of pro bon work around FIji and Tuvalu. He has been talking about a big multihull to get his kit across and move around the islands for years. I sent him details of Gaia’s Dream when it came up on the market.

Glad to see it is still sailing and being put to good use.

I tie up my boat the same way:

View attachment 387898
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Is there a reason other than hatch/companion faces that way and not stepping over the sail? 

 
Sidecar

Sidecar

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Dex Sawash said:
Is there a reason other than hatch/companion faces that way and not stepping over the sail? 
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What Proa said...... My ama deck is more or less level with the pontoon, so I usually step straight up onto the wing deck.  Leeward pod is less pronounced and full hull length compared to Jester above, and Russell’s proas, and it has a splay down to waterline in the middle, so hard to fend off alongside a pontoon.

When I come alongside other boats, I tie up other way round as the main hull foredecks are more or less level with most other local boat’s  gunwhales.  

2D629BC9-568C-433F-8DE2-BE1D8EB58C97.jpeg

 
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randii

Member
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Sacramento area
PIL66 - XL2 said:
I just don't get it, I never have and just can't be convinced ..... I'm into bikes and It's a bit like Harley's.. they aren't efficient as bikes but many get sold .....  I'm just happy others are into weird shit I guess
To each their own
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Try a turn-of-the-century Buell... and suddenly Harleys make sense. :p Big, long-throw EVO with better breathing, effective vibration dampening (well, at least above 2500 rpms), all wrapped up in a sport/touring bike and kept under 600 lbs. It makes kinetic sense in practice, in spite of appearances... I suspect proas are the same: ignore what tradition says "makes sense" and they it yourself.

You just might be surprised. Weird shit can be that way.

 
ProaSailor

ProaSailor

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randii said:
Try a turn-of-the-century Buell... and suddenly Harleys make sense.
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Wait, are you comparing proas to Harleys?   That would be an insult!  Other than Erik Buell (born in 1950) being an ex-Harley-Davidson engineer and Harley-Davidson eventually buying his company (before discontinuing the Buell product line in 2009 as part of its strategy to focus on the Harley-Davidson brand), Buel and Harley motorcycles are very different beasts, eh?

randii said:
You just might be surprised. Weird shit can be that way.
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Yeah, the road less traveled...

the_road_not_taken.png

 
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garland823

New member
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Sidecar said:
What Proa said...... My ama deck is more or less level with the pontoon, so I usually step straight up onto the wing deck.  Leeward pod is less pronounced and full hull length compared to Jester above, and Russell’s proas, and it has a splay down to waterline in the middle, so hard to fend off alongside a pontoon.

When I come alongside other boats, I tie up other way round as the main hull foredecks are more or less level with most other local boat’s  gunwhales.  

View attachment 388456
Click to expand...
And here I was thinking it was to save on dock fees, since the windward hull is shorter.

 
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