Making a safe prao
The Italian shipyard Rebel Yachts was born from Marco Masi's passion for prao boats. These amphidromic multihulls, with a single lateral float, offer great performance. But their instability, whether it is the Atlantic version, with the leeward float, or the Pacific version, with the windward float, has limited the distribution of these boats, because of the risk of capsizing, as the founder of the shipyard explains. "The problem was safety. In general, a prao looks like a trimaran with a float removed. Our idea, with the architect Alessandro Comuzzi, was to add a keel on the side with the least stability. The Rebel 8, even if it may seem symmetrical afloat, is ballasted, with a real keel on the side of the masts, so we have a maximum righting moment. The boat is self-righting"
A schooner rig
The Rebel Yachts prao has two self-supporting carbon masts and a sail area of 31 m², with boom sails. With a length of 8 meters, the multihull is only 2.49 meters wide, which allows it to respect the road gauge. Its total displacement is announced as 1,500 kg, with 300 kg of ballast. A retractable bulb keel allows to go from 2 meters to 50 cm of draught.
The sailboat is built with mahogany marine plywood and epoxy resin. Aluminum and fiberglass structural elements contribute to the strength of the structure.
A real multihull for coastal camping
The Rebel 8 does not want to be satisfied with a few tacks in the afternoon. In addition to the deep and secure central cockpit, which also houses the two tiller bars, the yacht has a few amenities in the hulls. There is a kitchen, equipped with a fridge and a stove, and a small bathroom, as well as storage space. The two lockers located on the platform beams contain two overload camping tents. Deployed at anchor, they can shelter 4 adults for stopovers during fast coastal raids.
Launched at the beginning of July 2022, the first example should quickly begin its sea trials in Tuscany.
