THE HYBRID

THE HYBRID – BLUE SKY FISHING

The Hybrid will be the first prototype for the Blue Sky Fishing project. The boat will be a smaller and more experimental version then the later first full scale prototype for a real Sailpowered Fishingboat.

Dimentions for the Hybrid will be :
Length : 7,5 meter
Width : 2,5 meter
In comparazing is the full size Fishing Boat estmated to be around 12 meter long.

The reason for building this first reduced size Hybrid proto is mainly to minimize costs but also because we wish to make the Hybrid more experimental and also we wish to make this boat transportable on a road-trailer. In this way we can bring the boat more easely from e.g. the Oslo Fjord to Lofoten for tests and/or promotional purposes.

A traditional Clinker hull
In the hull building process for the Hybrid, we have chosen to cooperate with well known traditional style Boat builder Kai Linde at Rognan in Nordland which is on the mainland in from the Lofoten Islands in arctic North Norway. There are several reasons for this choice. First of all the classic fishing boats from the North of Norway are expremely beautiful and they are direct developments from the Viking Ships, which we know were highly developed ocean going sailing ships. People have used these incredibly advanced sailing and rowing-boats for centuries as fishing vessels along the wild windy coast of Norway.
We wish to take the essence of this enourmous practical experience and wisdom gathered through hard work with hundreds of fishermens lifes as investment to bring this survival principle into near perfection.
Modern scientists get blury eyes when they realize to what perfection these boats where brought simply through
life long investments of blood, sweat and tears. We cant ignore this history when we wish to try to re-introduce sailpower as an energy supplier for a future scenario for fishing small scale fishing wessels.
This is one major reason why we wish to build the Hybrid in a traditional manner by a boat builder who has devoted his life for the understanding of the building principles for these traditional fishing boats of Norway.
Future will tell us if we will bring the same material and building principle also into the first full size prototype.
The hull shape of the Hybrid will be more simular than the most modern sail-racing hulls than anything with a wide back that gives both stability as well as a good surface for planing and surfing the waves.
Our philosophy will be to rather adjust a specialised sailing hull into what we are aiming for rather than going the other way – trying to adjust a fishing boat hull to what we look for. In the back of our heads we imagine that the
future Norwegian fisherman will be a lover of sailing. It has been like that before- so why not again?
The times are a changing (Bob Dylan)

The Interior
The inside of the Hybrid will be an experimental mix of principles and modern materials. We will may even try to create a modulprinciple which will allow us to try out different variations of interior. We do actually imagine that a future sailpowered working boat can be moduled in a way that it can be a combined working and leisure vessel.
So the hybrid will not be equipped as a fishing boat but will mainly focus on trying out various principle for the general layout of the boat – which of course will differ quite alot from both leisure sailing boats or racing boats of today.

The Rig
If you wish to get anywhere you need to be brave. Not true. If you see something you like – you approach it.
As simple as that. It is the natural power of action given to all living and dead.
The traditional square rig of the Viking Ship and also the Nordlandsboats are wonderful to use as they are simple and easy to handle and also to reduce when in need for that. Noone have ever tried to adjust this rig principle to fit into a framwork of modern materials and sailtheory. The Hybrid will be an obvious playground for such a scenario although we might end up with some other rig and sailprinciple for the future sailpowered fishing boat.
The rig has to be simple, functional and strong. That is our main criteria. We will see.