----- Original Message -----

From: Mike Crawford

To: harryproa@yahoogroups.com.au

Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 12:47 AM

Subject: [harryproa] Re: Harry in Maine?

  I visited this fellow in March 2005, and yes, he does indeed have a
custom harryproa in his yard.  Or at least he did.

  After being smitten with the Harryproa bug, I thought I'd take a
ride to see one.  Since I live less than an hour from Rockland, this
seemed like the perfect opportunity. 

  My wife and I have a Stiletto 27 catamaran, and wanted to get a feel
for the Harry's size.  We'll eventually upgrade to something larger,
and didn't know if a Harry would be enough of a step up from our
current boat to justify the leap.  I know the leeward hull is 40 feet,
but knowing that doesn't really convey how much space there is above
and below decks. 

  I called ahead of time, and the owner was every  bit as odd as you
describe.  He was quite brusque, told he he didn't have time to
explain proas, made it clear that he didn't want to bother with tire
kickers, and said there was no use seeing the boat because it was
demounted and stored in his yard.  I pressed to see the boat anyway,
and eventually he relented and said I could look at it.  I offered to
sign a waiver in case I fell in the icy yard, but he said that
wouldn't be necessary.

  On the plus side of things, he was very gracious about offering
summer cruises and lessons, and said I was welcome to stop by any time
the boat was in the water.  Quite nice, actually, and very different
than the moment before.

  When we arrived, he was working on another project in the basement
of his barn, wouldn't come to the door to say "hi", and would only
yell up to me.  However, he did give me permission to look at the boat.

  We walked around the demounted proa for a while.  Unfortunately the
hulls were right together, and it was also surrounded by piles of
debris and equipment, so we got zero feeling for its size. 

  It seemed too small for an upgrade from what we have, but then lots
of boats would seem small that way.  It also wasn't representative of
even a light cruising proa because the owner had it designed with a
walk-through cockpit in the windward hull instead of a cabin.

  I yelled some thanks down to him in the barn basement as we left, at
which point we met his wife as she went to the barn.  She said that he
gets very, very focused on one project at a time, and just wouldn't be
in the position to talk about the proas until that became his warmer
weather project.

  So, there you have it.  This man does exist, he had a proa, and he
was planning on using it this past summer for day charter cruises and
lessons.  He can be very gruff, and is in no way a salesman, but he
also seemed to be quite genuine about sharing the boat once the
weather warmed up.  Very much a Mainer in a number of ways -- just
more extreme than most.

  We're still years away from commissioning a proa, probably a
Visionarry, but this was certainly an interesting step along the way.

    - Mike


P.S.  I now see that the image on the harryproa web site shows a
Harrigami with a walkthrough cockpit, not a Harry, so this could be
another reason why the boat didn't seem that spacious.

--- In harryproa@yahoogroups.com.au, Charlie Magee <charlie@s...> wrote:
>
> Well, I went to this link: http://www.proasail.com, which led me to
> this webpage http://www.by-the-sea.com/saltys/index.html.
>
> I called the number at the bottom. There was the sound of a power tool
> in the background and the guy that answered didn't seem to want to talk
> or answer questions. I got 3 one word answers to my questions.
>
> A link about a sailing proa in Maine now leads me to your webpage. Do
> you have anything to with that proa? No.
>
> It's a Harry proa built in Australia and delivered to Rockland Maine
> for chartering and such. Have you seen a proa sailing in Rockland
> waters? No.
>
> Do you have any idea why that proa link would lead to your website? No.
>
> Now, this place I called, SBI Marine, offers sailing lessons out of
> Rockland Harbor. The man did not want to talk and anytime I've ever
> called a place offering sailing lessons or sailing gear, they worked to
> keep me on the line to sell me something. This guy had no interest in
> pitching lessons or anything else. Nothing like: "We don't have a proa,
> but we can teach you to sail on our fine 26 foot whatever."
>
> I've never been to Rockland, but I can't imagine any kind of sailor not
> noticing a Harry when it shows up and begins sailing around. Something
> ain't right. That guy was either lying or hiding something or he didn't
> know what a proa was and was just waiting for me to quit asking
> questions so he could get back to work. It would sure help if I had the
> owner's name . . . . . . .
>
> Charlie
>
>
> --------------------------------
> Charlie Magee
> Signal Design
> 465 Washington
> Eugene, OR 97401
> 541-683-5363
> http://www.signaldesign.net/different22.html
>
> >
>






 
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