Rob,

I've been pondering the Ex 40 ever since it was posted and have become increasingly convinced of two things:

- It's perfect as it is, and couldn't meet its design goals any better. If you want to fit into a standard 40' container, and trailer the boat without a wide-load permit, I'm not sure it could be improved upon.

- I'd personally want just a tad more because it's so close to being perfect for my personal design goals. It's right on the verge between awesome weekender and long-term minimalist cruiser, with the dividing line being largely an oven, a hanging locker, and the ability to use the head without going out in the weather to the lw hull.

Therefore, I'd want to modify the design goals slightly to make the boat the smallest design that would add the following:

- Alcohol stove/oven instead of just a stove. Probably a two-burner Origo 6000:
http://www.westmarine.com/buy/marine-air--origo-6000-oven-with-stove--13781513

- Hanging locker or storage on one end of the ww hull.

- Head on the other end with at least a composting toilet. The original Harryproa design, with standing head room for the sink/shower, but a sit-down head, is perfect.

- A few degrees more slant on the lw side of the ww hull to make leaning back more comfy.

- Another two inches of height on the ww hull, and two inches of width on the ww hull bench, to accommodate some full-size closed-cell cushions.

It would need to fold down to 10' or under to allow wide-load trailering without a chase or lead vehicle, and ideally would transport in a 48' hi-cube shipping container.

Basically, the proa equivalent of the Corsair F36.

There would be limitations as to ports and shipping companies with the 48' hi-cube container, and the trailering would require planning, but I'd put up with the limitations in order to get the added functionality. The boat would be big enough to where there may not ever be a need for a larger boat, and yet it wold still be small enough to avoid a boat yard for winter storage.

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Does that sound feasible?

I know a boat like that could fold down to 10' or less, so the question is whether the additional width and length of the larger container would allow for the stove, head, and hanging locker. In my mind it all works out -- another foot of beam for the tall section of the ww hull, another foot or two of length for the galley section, plus another two feet of length on either side of the galley to allow access to the ends -- but that could be hopeful thinking.

That wish list hasn't changed in the past seven years (the only thing that'd different now is that the Ex 40 is almost an exact match), so I'm reasonably confident that this is what I'll want to build when we get to the point where we can start a proa.

If there's an Ex 48 by then, great. If not, I'll foot the bill to upgrade the design when the time comes. I know I haven't gushed excitement about the Ex 40 since the fall, but it's still a brilliant design.

- Mike