Francis Prout, the remaining Prout brother, died at the age of 89.
It’s the end of an era for the pioneering catamaran building duo from Canvey Island, Essex. Roland, who died in 1997, was the elder brother of Francis and between them they created the first production catamarans in the world. Their father Geoffrey, an author of yachting books began the boatbuilding firm with folding dinghies and canoes. From 1935 ‘Prout Folding Boats’ were being shipped all over the world.www
Roland and Francis Prout were successful canoeists who paddled for Great Britain in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games. Soon after, they decided to tie two of their sleek cold-moulded kayaks together with bamboo poles resulting in an efficient high-speed sailing craft. The Prout business grew from those successful experiments in 1954 to the most famous and well respected catamaran producing company in the world, picking up a ‘Queens award for industry’ along the way. In 1964 it was a Prout catamaran that became the first multi-hull to circumnavigate the globe. The brand lives on today with Prout International producing the new generation of Prout catamarans.
During World War 2 Francis was a Hurricane pilot and in 1979 he became a ‘Freeman of the City of London’. He was also a past president of the ‘Ship & Boat-builders National Federation’ now the BMF (British Marine Federation).
Francis Prout will be sadly missed, the achievements he made and the contributions to the catamaran industry, alongside his brother Roland are difficult acts to follow.
Steve ProutExclusive UK Representative
for Prout Catamaran Sales
07720935977
steveprout2@gmail.com
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Please do make use of the FORUM contact other members and to share helpful information or seek advice..
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If you are thinking about using the French canals to passage between the UK and the Mediterranean then this book contains all the information you need. It describes the Routes, the regulations the paperwork - How where and when to get the qualifications and license, the depths, air heights, locks and a whole lot more. FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO
Navicarte - French Canal & River Charts here
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Why not take your Prout to the Mediterranean next summer?
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PROUT ORIGINAL CATALOGUES***new
More info on that trip under
If you are thinking of taking your Prout from the UK to the Med then you can find the options at:- If you want to know more about the French Canals then :- |
Welcome to the PROUT OWNERS ASSOCIATION which I hope you will join and participate in? The objective of this site is to enable Prout Catamaran owners to keep in touch, exchange tips and information and find out what works and does not. All intended to make sailing more fun and not to be too serious. Exchange help and information. Costs nothing to join and only take a couple of minutes. The MEMBERSHIP LIST is just that. If you want to contact an owner with a similar Prout or are interested in their opinion before buying one yourself or intend cruising in their area and would like to say hello then this is the way to get in touch. Why not join and be on the list? JOIN NOW is a little form to fill in and send to me so that you can be included in the membership list. Fill in as many or few of the details you want - all are welcome..
FORUM Please visit the forum to exchange 'Prout' or sailing information. If you want to sell your boat or nautical items there is also a section for that... Please note this is a brand new forum and if you used the previous one you will have to 'join' again... The old forum has been dispatched to the sin bin permanently. PROUT ORIGINAL CATALOGUES***new courtesy of Martin Smythe FRENCH CANALS are pages of the experiences of owners taking their Prouts north and south by this bridge between the UK and the Mediterranean. Do feel free to add your experiences. If, like me, you have suffered from headlining 'droop', then HEADLINING SPECIFICATIONS are for you to refer to and to help fill in. If every Prout owner can send the necessary information with pictures if possible we can build a useful data base WHERE ARE YOU? has got one of those Frapper Maps of the world which enable you to put the location of your boat with a map marker - if you want. Stability Tests - anybody help?
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'Eloise' parked in a canal in northern France on
her way down to the Med.
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Please do make use of the FORUM contact other members and to share helpful information or seek advice..
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Contents 1 – Planning the voyage 2 – South coast to Chenal du Four 3 - Chenal du Four to La Rochelle 4 - La Rochelle to Spain overview 5 - La Rochelle to Coruña 6 - Coruña to Gibraltar |
Why not take your Prout to the Mediterranean next summer?
There are several ways of getting your boat to the Mediterranean. On the back of a lorry, via the French canals, four or five day’s non stop across the Bay of Biscay then down the Portuguese coast or spend the summer or two, gently coasting southwards, enjoying the harbours, cities, towns and villages of France Spain and Portugal.
This is not a pilot book, rather a passage plan and guide to the nicer places between the South Coast of the UK to the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. It can all be done in easy stages, to suit a lightly crewed boat, with perhaps only a couple of people on board who are without ‘offshore’ experience. Actually, it is a lovely way to explore a lot of delightful foreign places.
The Ebook version is available now £4.50 |
Specially drawn charts of:
Cherbourg to L’Aber-Wrac’h. Chenal du Four to La Rochelle La Rochelle to Spain La Rochelle to Coruña Coruna to Gibraltar + illustrations, pictures, paintings |
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The Prout catamaran returns Prout International are now manufacturing a whole new breed of multihulls both power and sail at their new factory in Zhuhai, China. The product range starts from 50ft with the P50sw. All craft are very well designed by the in house design team and built to an extremely high standard. Workmanship is second to none with lightweight interiors having delightful curves and shapes and incorporating a high finish. Interiors include marble work surfaces (laminated with aluminium honeycomb for lightness), top grain leather upholstery and fine veneered joinery. An all round view from the saloon is achieved through the compound curved laminated tinted safety glass windows.. The website can be visited at www.proutinternational.com For UK sales and information contact Steve Prout at steveprout2@gmail.com |
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IS DEDICATED TO BOOKS YOU CAN DOWNLOAD INTO YOUR COMPUTER AND LATER PRINT OUT... 2) Living Aboard Around the World 5) Build an American 16 ft Dory |