For me proas represent an alternate reality to mainstream sailing. They trade transverse symmetry for fore & aft symmetry and in doing so enter a different world of possibilities and constraints. Russell’s boats are Pacific proas which means that the single float is to weather and can be water ballasted. Structurally, this kind of proa is much simpler than either catamarans or trimarans due to the much smaller cross beam loads.
I first saw Russell Brown’s proa Jzerro about 12 years ago and it took me quite a while to fully apreciate the beauty of its design. She is the latest expression of Russell’s 30 years of experience designing and building these boats. She is beautifully built, comfortable, seaworthy, and extremely fast. Russell has sailed her from Seattle through Polynesia, New Zealand and Australia.
-Paul
