Patin - Puuure sailing

Since the beginnings, my boat-development and -building project, took me to the bounderies, to the more excentric ideas and developments regarding boat design, construction and use. I simply love to see and learn about the colorfull fleet, of those considered more ethnic boat-types; tacking outriggers, catamarans, trimarans, quadrimarans (!), canoes, rafts, proas with dimples, crab-claws, sprits, triangles, no rudder steering... and so on it goes. It is stimulating to imagine the applicability of each feature, to imagine the sailing conditions of bays and lagoons in far away islands. All this sparcles my creativity and imagination much more, than the plastic-white uniformity of todays production boats.

Despite my research and participation in specific discussion groups (proa-file and other), I have never come across this small beach catamaran from Spain, called Patin. It is light and narrow, and features no steering device. No rudder, paddle, board or such. Steering is done with sail-handling and tunig, and a ballet of body weight shifting. The platform between the hulls features 4 of 5 broad beams, on where the skipper literally dances from bow to stern, as required to maneuver the boat.

Moreover, the patin class seems to have a numerous and active racing fleet. All body-steering fans should revel when watching this.

See what they say about it themselves:

"Pati Catalá, that is the actual name of this proa. It took many years to develop it: at the beginning of the 20th century, swimmers at sea were accompanied by a small rowing raft built on two floats. During the development into sailing proa, the rudders and boom were not added yet: that is how a very simple vessel with excellent sailing qualities was created. In the meantime, the Patin has grown into one of the largest unity classes over the whole region of Catalonia. Along our coast as well, especially in De Haan, we have been able to admire the gracefulness of sailing a Patin since the seventies."

From: http://www.marinero.be/