The rudder systems of proas are always debated. For many proa projects the rudders, cruicial for safety, were the weak spot of otherwise neat designs. The challenge is to design a system that works in both directions of travel due to the nature of the proa: Shunting.
We hope to have found a robust and cheap way that allows us to keep proasis on course comfortably and safe. Our proa will get recycled F18 daggerboards as rudder foils, mounted in kick-up cassettes on each beam (more about the cassettes in later posts).
Rudder foils ready for sanding and a couple of paint-jobs.The F18 daggerboards were to short so we’ve made them longer (purple part in the vacuum bag above).
Northern Germany got pounded by a heavy snow storm with wind up to 60 kn the past couple of days. The roaring sea caused some scary erosion to our shorelines, drowning land which has been there since the ice age.
Clear reminder that we all share the same ocean: If sea level rises in the Marshall Islands it does over here as well.
There used to be 40 ft of beach in front of that dune.
Proasis eventually made it to the ocean for the very first time. We managed to ship (well literally truck) her to the spot where we want to launch in summer. With all the Covid measures in place it was quit a struggle to manage the hole operation.
We plan to finish and launch proasis as soon as the weather allows it in spring. Stay tuned!
WAM, the NGO in the Marshall Islands we support as part of the TLCSeaT project, recently got a high visitor interested in the latest achievements of canoe construction:
A pleasant surprise at the open canoe-house day was the visit of the Hon. Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technology, Donald Capelle who came accompanied by his wife and granddaughter. A canoe sailor himself, he was exited to learn more about the latest canoes launched by WAM: Unlike any other craft in the RMI, WAM’s latest canoe was built with stitch & glue technology. This new technique to construct canoe hulls has been introduced by the GIZ (German International Corporation) fundedproject “Transitioning to Low Carbon Sea Transport” (or TLCSeaT) as part of a prototype workshop at WAM in January to April 2020 (see previous post on proas.is). Stitch & Glue is an advanced technique to build plywood canoes, not unlike the traditional way for dugout canoes, but adapted to the “new“ plywood material. The individual parts are first stitched together, brought in shape and glued into place permanently by glue from epoxy resin. Due to the perfect adaptation to the characteristics of the plywood and the superior strength of epoxy as glue, the stitch & glue canoes are substantially lighter and stronger than their previous counterparts. Further benefits are a faster construction (a hull is completed in less than a week) and an expected lifetime of at least 20 years if well maintained.
Stitched canoe hull, ready to get glued. Stitching is clearly visible in the bow area.Finished stitch & glue canoe, first of its kind in the RMI, ready to launch.
WAM plans to host more training workshops on contemporary canoe building in the future as part of the TLCSeaT project in a close collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Transport, MISC, HEL (University of Emden-Leer) and GIZ. Starting with the next workshop in mid-February, the long-term goal is to train Marshallese canoe builder in the new construction technique to replace as many fossil fuel powered boats as possible by canoes.
In a community effort, WAM will put RMI in a leading position of the worldwide effort to reduce the CO 2 emissions of the shipping sector. Updated for the future, the traditional Marshallese canoe, still the best craft for RMI’s waters, is ready to meet the requirements of the 21 st century and sails towards a new golden age.
We from proasis are proud to be part of this story!
The color of sunshine, hope, and happiness. On one hand yellow stands for freshness, happiness, positivity, clarity, energy, optimism, enlightenment, remembrance, intellect, honor, loyalty, and joy. On the other hand its an alarming color, capable of transporting our message of climate emergency.
