sábado, 15 de março de 2008

Hans Klaar's traditional tacking outrigger


This is Hans Klaars traditional Tacking Outrigger. A cool story. Seeing it sailing on the video is interesting but takes a while.

Follow this link for a fabulous video about has Klaar's voyage:


He build the 70ft. tacking outrigger from scratch. Literally. He bought a couple of logs.... He passed by Brasil too. But apparently he didn't come to Rio. At least I didn't see him, nor his boat. Guess he went the route from South Africa to Salvador or Recife.

Read his letter to James Wharram below:

"Hi James and Hanneke"
How are you all? Went on your web site and saw in the forum that the hunt was on for who has seen the whereabouts of my old boat Rapa Nui, funny that. Well I have been rather busy myself the last 9 months and gave birth, or so it seems, to a new voyaging canoe and the teething seems also to be over its worst, after sailing 2000 miles, most of it over open ocean."
So I can now say, yes in its extant it took me 4 years to dream up, 6 months to build (from 2 bare tree trunks 4 foot diameter and 27 feet long), 2 months for the rig, crab claw naturally, a very refined version, asymmetric hulls, built along the line of the Anaan, Tuamotuan canoes as seen by both Commodore Wilkes and Admiral Paris (approx. 1845)."

Here are the dimensions: starboard hull is 71 feet LOA, 8 feet beam, 6 feet deep; port hull is 57 feet LOA, 8 feet beam, 6 feet deep; draft over all is 2 feet. Deck platform 42 by 21 feet, beam over all 22 feet, 7000 kg plus/minus looking at the weight of the dried wood used."Tacks like a dream all one way, no hanging back at the last moment, and takes off once through the eye of wind almost at once, holds a good 50 degrees on the wind and leaves a nice straight wake aft. I can handle her totally on my own, self-steers very well. Something funny goes on with this one mast that seems to make it possible. One example is 400 miles in 40 hours, jib to tiller steering (controlled surfing if one can call it that) with fully reefed main in 28 knots of wind."
Will head out for the Pacific come January, are at the moment in Brazil on our way to Trinidad-Tobago. Hope you like the lines and that all is well in Devoran."

Greetings,
Hans Klaar"

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