Madness 31-foot Pacific Proa

Madness is For Sale!
Madness is in private hands currently, a serial proa enthusiast who is moving up to a larger proa. CLC is helping to facilitate the sale. Serious inquiries to [email protected]

Built and rigged in 2011 without regard to expense, Madness #1 is in excellent, turnkey condition, on a custom trailer. One of the most cost-effective 20-knot sailboats in its class!

Madness was built by professionals under the designer's supervision at Chesapeake Light Craft's shops in Annapolis, and finished by Mark Bayne at Sea Island Boatworks.  The hulls are premium marine okoume plywood, with every surface sealed on both sides with epoxy and fiberglass for strength and durability.  The crossbeams are hollow, with composite sitka spruce vertical webs, western red cedar fairings, finished inside and out with structural carbon fiber.  The crew bench and the mainsheet struts are also carbon composite.  All hardware is stainless steel.  The rudders are updated to the Mark II configuration and are carbon and fiberglass with a wood core.

The rig is the tall, square-topped "racing" option. In 2022 a carbon fiber mast was custom-built for the boat by Forte Carbon at a cost of $15,000. New sails, by Evolution, were built in 2024. The inventory includes three jibs and an almost-new asymmetrical spinnaker by Boding-Segel of Sweden.

The halyard winch and mainsheet winches are by Harken; the mainsheet winches are self-tailing.  The main halyard is 2:1.  Jib halyards and spinnaker halyard are led to Spinlock clutches on the mast.  Two Harken staysail furlers are included.  

The custom trampoline is Ultra Cross Silver Dyneema, very light and the perfect mesh size for good footing and low windage. The breaking strength of the twine used in the knotless netting is 765lbs.

The outboard is a low-hours Yamaha 4hp 2-stroke mounted on a "sled" beneath the trampoline.  It will drive the boat at 7.5 to 8 knots in calm conditions.  

The cabin is far more spacious than photos and drawings suggest.  Two adults accustomed to living with a light footprint could be comfortable indefinitely.  The cabin interior is painted but has not been fitted out. It could be used as it stands, though the owner may want to optimize with hull liner, cushions, an electrical system, and various galley options.

The ama contains two self-draining lockers for fenders, spare line, anchor rodes, gasoline cans, and so on.  

The boat is on a custom galvanized trailer.  Madness weighs 1400lbs with engine, rig, and basic cruising gear aboard, and the trailer weighs about 600lbs. Towing with a V-6 SUV is easy. Rigging the boat on a beach takes about a day to set up the first time; it gets quicker with familiarity.

Madness cost about $100,000 in labor and materials to build in 2011.  In current ownership the boat has been maintained in Bristol condition and thoughtfully updated.

Oh, and the tacking thing? It's really easy. Easier than tacking a big monohull with an overlapping genoa. The first time you tack a proa, you'll say, "Oh! That's all there is to it?" 

For spirited coastal or islands cruising, this is a singular and compelling design, widely admired for her sculptural lines and effortless speed.  Compare price and VMG with the Corsair F-22 and other fast multihulls. Serious inquiries to [email protected]

4hp Yamaha outboard on retractable sled.

On display at the 2012 United States Sailboat Show.

A beautiful finish and detailing.

The boat on its trailer, prior to rigging. The ama is slung beneath the cockpit on the opposite side of the trailer.

The interior under construction.

 

Madness can be handled solo from the protected cockpit or from the crew bench.

An easy boat to beach.

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Please contact [email protected] with any questions.