This is the Strangford Lough Cruiser, it is a combination of a Bank’s Dory, Caddo Lake Bateau and off course a proa.

The brief is for a singlehander or two up for a day sail or a single hander for ultralight camping. The overall length is 14ft, due to building limitations. That’s where the Dory mid ships section comes in. With a 260kg displacement the hull draft is 120mm and L:B 11:1 up the displacement to 360kg and draft 200mm, L:B 10:1. I would have liked a finer hull but the draft increased too much, the bows are sharp giving fine entry. The Bateau influence is twisting the sides of the flat bottom v mid section into vertical stem maximising length and L:B. This twist creates some good flair for reserve buoyancy and keeping the crew dry.

Back to the Dory mid ships section, the flat of the bottom is 200mm, the gunwale 500mm above and a beam of 800mm. This gives space inside for a temporary birth of ‘bivi’ camping, a simple ‘tent’ protecting against the elements.

The beams in the picture are 1600mm apart so some ‘accommodation’ would be under the beams and deck. The ‘birth’ is removable like a camp bed made of material under tension

For discussion with like minded proa people see http://proafile.com/forums/viewthread/259/#1954