>"The long slender hull provides very little usable space for people, and the human space is all concentrated in the windward hull.   To get the space for a more or less permanent live aboard voyaging boat requires a much larger boat than would be called for with two equal hulls."

thats not wrong but you have to consider the quantities too. Remember cats are weight sensitive too, but you dont have the ability to optimise one side or hull. Cats are best cruised at half the crew capacity. Also equivalent cats are getting scarce at these prices because the money for builders is for larger designs or the bare boat market. With the new builds being a largely vacant space home builds are the next solution.

Ultimately what you need to program into the equation is how much crap and how many people you would be cruising with, where I know from my boat getting a crew together even for a half day cruising isnt exactly simple. It means weekend sailing with more boat traffic often at close quarters with other boats, so Zaya needs 3 ideally 4 people aboard to manage her safely. A two week voyage? kinda hard to see how that could be done even in the boat season.

So a proa is probably best short crewed with less bullshit and junk aboard. I take Robs designs as similar to Wharram's philosophy of very little hardware (=cost too) and simple solutions to traditionally complex and more heavy things, although monos are moving into that space with weekenders.

I think its barely possible to cruise a 40ft proa, where you are essentially living in a 30ft hull, but the sweet spot might be a little longer; I have argued that position before. But you wont be taking your 6 kids, two wives, four drinking buddies and a goat with you. ...

Im serious about this, I do think the 40 is a good prospect, but the boat needs to be handled with some grace for its limitations.

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