To Clarify

    Just recently Julie and I attended the New Zealand Proa Congress at Whangaparaoa a few miles north of Auckland city. Several people asked me about my motivation to build and develop proas and if I had plans that could be followed.

    My answer?
I've covered some of this already in my dissertation "Takapu the Proa"

    My motivation is to understand the people and the thinking behind this very unique sailing paradigm, so different from the one I grew up with.

    I believe that the only way gain insight and to understand is to do what others have done before me, not just read about it through the experience and observations of others or observe myself (although that too may be part of the process). Whilst engaged in the process of doing I find that I begin to have a conversation,  both with myself and with something outside of myself. I rarely calculate or draw my solutions but rather I draw from materials and solutions around me with the idea in mind that the universe provides more solutions than the problems that we can create. Many solutions already exist or existed which we either have not yet seen, have forgotten, never knew about or will never know. Toroa has emerged from this process in his current form. There are still details that need addressing, the solutions, already known or awaiting discovery.

    I have not provided plans for Toroa as I'm unwilling to support any potential demand because of the amount of work involved in drawing and publishing them. I don't see this as part of my journey. Toroa is also something of a one man horse, emerging simultaneously with me. I have also developed sailing instincts and experiences that take years to acquire and hone. For me the process of building and sailing go together. I would encourage that others try a similar approach.

    Toroa resonates to the pattern set out by the ancient Micronesians however he is a product of my own vocabulary of skills. I am familiar with my chosen materials and processes, all of which are derived from my surroundings. In this way I am no different from any boat builder who has gone before.
Different from modern boat builders I am following a pattern in an improvisational sense rather than following a specific set of predetermined instructions, this in my opinion is the timeless way of building.

    The more I learn from my experience the more I value this intuitive approach which informs so much else of what I do.

Harmen