stuck at home sick on a beautifully warm sunny day :( perhaps one of the last of the sailing season. sigh. perfect time to ask the folks here a question.

for awhile now i've had my eyes on a harry proa. more precisely, should i ever buy a big boat, which might or might not happen, that's definitely what i'd get.

my main problem though is that, without exception, every single video i have ever seen has shown them pitching down. unacceptably unsafe in my opinion. what can be done about it?

1. rob has suggested to minimize the pitch by putting more buoyancy in the ends of the leeward hull. but yet, the pitch is still going to be negative, albeit smaller. and how would that effect hull drag at low speeds and weight?

2. rick has suggested to shape the hulls to provide dynamic lift at speed. i think a static method would be safer. and again, drag and weight?

3. one could pantograph the windward hull. oh, but nasty moving parts puts one at risk for a huge catastrophe. damn it! i really liked this idea.

being primarily a dinghy sailer i am very much used to the idea of weight shift. my main question for you all (yes, i spent some time in texas), is how much weight needs to be shifted?

the lift of the sail times the height of the COE is a pitch moment. yes, it varies with the wind strength and a gazillion other factors, blah blah blah. order of magnitude please. how much weight would be needed on the aft beam to compensate? is it more or less than the weight of the motor, fuel, batteries, and fresh water (and maybe crew)?

here are two ideas:

4. put a sled just inboard of the leeward hull between the beams on which all the moveable weight is placed. slide it aft with each shunt.

5. better yet (thinking way way outside the box here as usual) put all this moveable weight IN THE BOOM. there is already some weight shift on a una-rig just from the sail and boom alone. but if the boom had internal compartments for batteries, fuel, and fresh water, and if the engine when not in use could be hoisted and mounted on the end of the boom... no need to slide a sled here, it's automatic!

tear it apart! be constructive!! give me a reason to start saving for a harryproa!!!

ben arthur
weta #358, "gray matter"
chesapeake bay