on every boat i've ever sailed (hobie 18, weta trimaran, various monos, but have never been on a proa) crew weight is positioned aft when maximizing downwind VMG. the force of the slightly eased sails pushes the bow down, which is both slow and dangerous. weight aft compensates.

given a typical proa's short ww hull, i don't see how it is possible to move weight aft to the extent that is needed. a proa with pantograph ww hull would permit it though. as would a raking/canting single beam with a dish, but i'm looking for something with overnight accommodations.

there was a discussion recently about a bow down trim on a visionarry. but that is a different issue i believe. excessive rudder drag or something. am i incorrect in thinking that with proas free of such problems, the bow is still slightly down when sailing downwind (i.e. apparent wind at 90 deg)?

i know there will be a bow wave created at speed, which will naturally lift the bow. nevertheless, it is still customary to move weight aft on most (all?) boats to lift it even further. to prevent stuffing the bow and pitchpoling. to encourage planing on boats which can. how does one do this on a proa??

randy smyth recently won the everglades challenge on a small trimaran named "sew sew" whose floats could cant/rake. the port and starboard beams were one piece, such that if the leeward float was raked forward the ww float was raked equally as far aft. seems like a great idea.

am i way off base here? too complicated? too small of an effect to worry about??

interested to hear what everyone thinks.

ben arthur
ithaca, new york
5th of 9 on my one-design weta last week in pensacola florida [2 pts from 3rd :( ]
dreaming of a line honors harry proa

rob:
> Thanks. Haven't drawn the pantograph but it is pretty easy. The lee end
> rotates around the mast (same idea as the ballestron boom), the ww end in a
> slot in or on the hull. Small problem is the trampoline, which would be
> loose when canted. Another is that, as pitching resistance increases,
> heeling resistance goes down, which is significant on an apparent wind
> boat. To make up for this, the beam overall would be higher than normal. I
> think a longer lee hull has the same effect as pantographing, with higher
> top speed and less hassle, but would love to be involved in a project to
> prove me wrong.

ben:
>did you ever draw up the pantograph schooner? just worried about stuffing the
>bow going downwind.