Sailor Tony Watermann shared the following links with me last week. They feature a new foiling trimaran in development from Len Surtees, of SURTEES MULTIHULL DESIGNS.
You can check out drawings of the the foiling modes here: http://www.s-boat.com.au/img/sting600-foil-modes.jpg
And go to the main website, with photos of the prototype as it’s being built here: https://www.sting600.net/
(Thanks for sharing this find with us Tony!)
Ama cannard on Len Surtees’ S22 pod cat … see below
I had never heard of the term “cannard” before. Tony explained the concept and then provided me with an example (taken from boat designer Les Surtees.
The cannards are lateral fins, attached to the front of the amas. Their main purpose is to uplift the bow when it dives.
Tony explained that such fins, correctly mounted, can serve to “reduce the pitch pole effect.” While they cannot stop pitch-poling entirely, they could give a sailor extra time to make corrections to prevent a boat from turning over completely.
For an example of cannards, Tony pointed me to ones fitted to the Surtees S22 pod cat: http://www.s-boat.com.au/img/s-22_folding_catamaran.jpg
Any thoughts on this from sailors are welcome below. (And thanks again Tony, for sharing this concept with us here).
Sailor Jim Gallant is finished with the rebuilding of his foiling trimaran. (For the background story on this boat see the following links:
http://smalltrimarans.com/blog/mini-hydroptere-foiling-trimaran/
http://smalltrimarans.com/blog/mini-hydroptere-foiling-trimaran-ready-for-sea-trials/
Many thanks to Jim for sharing this project with us!
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Foiling Trimaran Rebuild
I finished rebuilding my hydrofoil trimaran yesterday, this time using a hull from a Boston Whaler Supercat 20.
That catamaran is known for having very high volume hulls, which should solve the problem I had with the last version of this boat where it sat too low in the water. The previous center hull (vaka) used a hull from an 18′ Solcat catamaran.
This rebuild has taken almost a year, but should solve other issues I had besides the low-volume hull. The foils will now be higher out of the water. The angle of attack for the foils will now be able to be adjusted by loosening 6 bolts, pivoting the foils and then tightening the bolts.
I built a new 5′ long daggerboard with loads of unidirectional carbon fiber. Should be able to go upwind as well as any mono-hull.
The main sheet hardware previously hung up in the steering mechanism. Not so for the new setup. Steering should be more precise too with the rod-driven arrangement. Both rudders should now be clear of the water when retracted, so marine growth won’t occur on them when it will be moored off my beach.
I plan to have a clothesline style mooring, where the boat can be pulled to shore, from shore, for launching. Then pulled back out to the mooring from shore after landing. I’m waiting on my rope to make the mooring, and will then give it a go.
Reports on that to come. In the meantime, see attached images.
-Jim Gallant
Here are a couple of pics (below) snipped from a couple of websites published by Selway-Fisher. Both pages feature one of their canoes in double outrigger mode.
You can click on the links to both pages and visit their sites for more information, including building plans.
The first snip comes from this webpage: http://www.makeacanoe.com/canoe_bits_and_pieces.htm
And the 2nd comes from this webpage: http://www.selway-fisher.com/Sailcanoe.htm
Here is a short video featuring bits from a UK camp-cruise (a few years ago). Two guys in a double outrigger sailing canoe.
Here is the info posted on this video’s YouTube page:
Canoe sailing trip on the Severn estuary from Lydney Yacht Club to Clevedon and back to Lydney via Portishead.
Our friend Stefano found this 32-foot (yet foldable, trailerable) trimaran on the net and shared the link to it with us. It was built in 1999 and has lots of cruising miles on it, including an Atlantic ocean crossing.
Lots of old-school look and feel here. The blog link, at the end of this post, also features other tris too.
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“The Clou 10 MKII … a 32.7 foot Trimaran (foldable) for transatlantic and coastal cruising
Kurt Diekmann is a German air plane constructor and yacht designer from Munich who sold plans for self builders, e.g. for the Clou 10 MKII. It’s a 32.7 foot Trimaran (Marine Plywood, Epoxy West-System).
Kurt is honorary member of the German Multihull Association (which was founded in 1974). He developed a measurement system of specific parameters to compare the performances between Trimarans and Catamarans more easily.
The Clou 10 MKII is a trimaran with 9.98 m Length over all (LOI). The beam is 6.20m and folded it’s only 2.30m wide one can easily trailer it behind a regular car. The max. displacement is 2,000 kg with a draft of maximum 1.7m (daggerboard down), 0.8 engine down, 0.5 min all up.
Clou 10 MKII has a sloop rig of 47 square metres sails area (main sail: 27m2 / Jib: 20 m2 / Storm Jib: 3 m2). The 3-hull boat demonstrates stiffness and sail power for trans-ocean crossings, e.g. sailing at 5-6 Bft with 7 knots alone under jib.
… Let’s take a look at a beautiful Clou 10 MKII (self built in 1999), the Trimaran Archeopterix which was sold in 2012 for 25,000 US dollars (~ 22,793 Euros). … cont”
Click here for many more pictures and some good info about this sailboat
I saw the following image in today’s news feed and thought you guys would love to see it. So cool. Click on the image below to expand…
From the newsfeed:
“Photographer Dimitar Karanikolov captures an amazing scene: A man stretches on his canoe, unaware a whale shark is next to him.The photo was taken in Oslob, Cebu, in the Philippines, a popular whale-shark watching site.Adult whale sharks can be 40 feet long. This one was a baby.”
We’ve posted about this Firefly trimaran before – here. It was sold from the previous owner (Steve) to a new owner (David).
David continued the restoration work but has decided to sell the boat at this time. David offer the following details, along with his contact info (below) to anyone what might be interested in purchasing this sailboat.
David writes:
Hi, Joe:
As you may recall, you featured this Firefly trimaran some time ago – http://smalltrimarans.com/blog/brand-new-old-firefly-26-trimaran-looking-for-a-home/
I thought your readers would be interested in an update.
Following my purchase of the Firefly, I took it a well-known multi-hull yard, where they addressed two weak points of the boat. They strengthened the ama sockets and faired them into the existing structure, and they reinforced the centerboard trunk. Additionally, they fabricated a centerboard and faired all three hulls in preparation for paint.
Steve, the prior owner, had a lot of the original parts, and I began collecting the remaining parts required. I was able to locate and purchase:
—The proper forward hatch
—Two deck organizers
—Three line clutches
—Two single speed winches
—Two two-speed winches
—Corsair F24 Mk1 Tiller
—Corsair F24 Mk1 rudder head
—Corsair F28 mainsail in excellent condition
—Corsair F24 jib in fair condition
—Heavy duty furler for reacher/spinnaker
Following the work done at the boatyard, I had the boat in storage for a couple of years, and I’ve recently brought it home to continue work.
I’d like to complete the boat, but I’ve come to the realization that at this point in my life, the Firefly no longer meets my needs. I need something that I can daysail from a trailer. I’ve spend a lot of time and money to get her to this point, so the next owner will be that much closer to finishing her off. I have all of the original parts from Steve, plus all of the parts I’ve gotten in the meantime.
Probably the biggest remaining job is the rigging, and with modern rigging materials and techniques, it’s now practical and inexpensive for a sailor to rig a boat himself using the newer synthetics such as Dyneema, Amsteel, etc.
I’ll be offering the boat for sale with everything I got from Steve (including the trailer), as well as all of the parts I’ve bought. My asking price is $11K. I’d really like to see it go to someone who can finish it off, and I’m willing to provide any assistance or guidance I can.
Regards,
David D.
Virginia
email: ddcinc AT erols.com
Weta trimaran sailor Peter Lange shares his experience at the 2018 Texas 200 with us below. Terrific, detailed write-up. Enjoy!
(And many thanks to him for this summary too!)
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2018 Texas 200
Puppy Dawg Learns to Rollover and Plan Dead
by Peter Lange
After I caught my breath and climbed on top of the bottom of my capsized boat, Puppy Dawg, in the middle of the Port Mansfield Channel, I reflected briefly on the day and how I ended up in this situation.
I had left Port Isabel relatively early in the morning and headed Northeast down the Laguna Madre with the wind directly behind me. I set up my sails for downwind sailing and relaxed as the wind began to build. I was jybing back and forth from port to starboard tack. At some point, I looked up and noticed that the storm mainsail had come completely out of the track on the mast I assumed from all of the jybing. So, I had to dump it to the deck, and instead of raising the main again, I just kept on sailing with only the screecher.
The wind continued to build even higher, and at some point, I realized that even the screecher had to be rolled up. I went to roll it up, and it wouldn’t budge. I knew the roller on the roller furler was jammed. So, I didn’t have any other option except to bring the screecher down from the halyard. When I dumped the halyard, it fed through the cam cleat and came out the top of the mast. So, that was an issue I’d have to deal with later.
Puppy Dawg slowed down dramatically without a mainsail or a screecher. At this point, I was down to just my little roller furling jib. I decided to head out of the ICW at day mark 83 on a starboard tack and point as high to the wind as I could get. My goal was to reach across the flats in the middle of Laguna Madre and see which spoil island on the Port Mansfield Channel I could reach under jib alone. As it turned out, I was able to reach the second spoil island coming from the West in the Port Mansfield Channel. It was good to set my feet on land again and just get stabilized.
After the rocky morning across the southern Laguna Madre, I pulled the boat around the western tip of this channel spoil island and got into a position where I was on the windward shore of the channel with the boat relatively calm so I that could raise the mainsail again. Once I got the mainsail up, I got underway. I immediately noticed that the jamb cleat on my Harken main sheet block had come loose, and I could not lock the sheet down. I figured it was a short way up the channel, and I would sort it out when I arrived at camp 1. For now, it was all right arm muscle trimming!
I was actually making pretty good way coming up the channel, and it was a situation where I had a long starboard tack, a short port tack, and then another long starboard tack. As I approached day mark 14 on the leeward side of the channel, I wasn’t sure whether I should tack before the day mark or just after it? I decided to tack after it, and that ended up being the wrong decision. In order to clear the day mark when I was doing my port tack, I needed to get far enough past it in order to not tack right on top of it. By doing this, I sailed to close to shore and hit bottom with my centerboard.
Given that the wind was in the high twenties and gusting into the 30’s, I didn’t think I could successfully get going again from the lee shore with main and jib. So, I dropped the main, and I sailed on a port tack back to the windward side of the channel to get things sorted out. It was at this point, that I briefly considered just stopping and figuring out what to do with the main sheet before raising the main again. However, I was not far from camp 1. So, I decided to just keep pushing on.
When I got the mainsail up again and got back on the boat this time, I forgot to attach my tether. I was sailing at maybe six to seven knots up the channel. A large gust of wind hit, and I leaned back instinctually to balance the boat, and I just kept going overboard. However, I still had the main sheet in my right hand. So, in the moment, I decided I should probably hang onto the boat. However, that was the wrong decision because once my weight was off the ama, but my weight was now fully applied to keeping the main sheet pulled in, the wind filled the mainsail and tipped it over to leeward because there was no weight to counterbalance the wind on the sail.
After I got oriented in the water, I noticed I was surrounded by a pod of dolphins who must have heard all of the underwater commotion, and I knew everything was going to be fine. Then, I saw Kyle on Angry Mullet coming up the channel. He motored by and asked if he could help. I said, “Sure, throw me a line.” He got prepared and circled the boat to throw me the line. However, the line wasn’t heavy enough line to reach me, and as he got blown towards the leeward shore, the line got caught in his prop, and he drifted off to the leeward shore of the channel.
In the meantime, I was starting to remember the video I had watched on how to right an upside down Weta. The only problem was the Weta wasn’t completely upside down! Because of the shallow water in the channel, the mast was stuck on the bottom. So, the bow was up in the air and the stern was underwater by a few feet. The problem with this orientation was that the port opening tool that I needed to flood the leeward ama was underwater. So, I dove for the opening tool which was bungeed to the stern and was very careful not to drop the tool when I un-bungeed it from the boat. Once I had the tool in my hand, I wrapped it around my wrist so that I couldn’t drop it. Next, I had to loosen the port on the starboard ama stern because the righting procedure requires flooding of the leeward ama.
The ama access ports get very pressurized from the heat of the day. So, you need the port opening tool to actually get the port open. The port was on so tight, I had to dive down for about a dozen tries to get the port open. Once I got the port open, I was able to flood the starboard ama. In order to completely flood the ama, I had to walk forward and stand on the bow of the ama to get the stern of the ama to raise up and release the air inside.
At this point, Kyle from Angry Mullet had walked up the leeward shore and started talking with me. He was maybe 150 feet away, and he asked me if I wanted him to call the Coast Guard. I said, “No. Do not call the Coast Guard. If you want to call anybody, call Chris Tomsett, who has a 25-horsepower motor.” He understood, and as he was walking back to his boat, I climbed up and stood on the centerboard to put my weight out as far as I could. At this point, I could feel the boat starting to come up just like in the instructional video. It flipped over so fast, I didn’t really have time to get on the net, so I just hung on as the boat got dragged over to the leeward shore. I felt great at this point because the boat was back upright!
Puppy Dawg was now wallowing in the mud of the leeward shore. Once I saw the boat was secured in the mud, I walked down to see if I could help Kyle get Angry Mullet underway again. He filled the gas tank, got the air out of the line, and secured the anchor. I helped push him off and get back out into the channel while thanking him profusely for standing by and offering assistance.
At this point, I walked back to Puppy Dawg and collected items along the way that had gone overboard and blown to the leeward shore – sunscreen, my Tivas, a side tie pad, and my sunglasses band. I was ready to get underway again and see if I could make it to camp 1, but as I pulled the boat into the water, I noticed that it was sitting fairly low in the water and surmised that there was water in the main hull. I opened the access port that sits in front of the centerboard and behind the mast, and to my shock, I saw that the main hull was about halfway filled with water! The troubling part of this situation was I didn’t have a pump! I thought for a moment about what I did have and realized I had a sponge. So, I grabbed the sponge and started sponging out the main hull that was half filled with water. I started around 5:00pm and ended around 6:30pm – an hour and a half of sponging to get the main hull clear of water!
Given the time of the day, I was wondering if I could still make camp 1, and ultimately, I just decided to sail under jib only across to the windward shore and camp for the evening. I found a nice sandy spot and pulled up on the beach. This was important because I had lost both anchors in the capsize event. So, I had to be up on the beach. I still had a dock line available, and I took that and tied it off to a rock that was sitting on the side of the channel. That was going to be my anchor for the night. I was finally in a position to assess the full damage of the capsize to the boat and to my gear.
I knew that the boat stern had been underwater for close to an hour. So, I first opened the dry bag that I kept in the cockpit with my sleeping gear. Sure enough, it was full of water and all my sleeping gear was completely wet. I got everything (air mattress, sleeping bag, pillow, and tent) out and set it up in an attempt to dry it out, but honestly it was too late in the day for the heat of the sun to have any real impact or drying power. I resigned myself to a night of wet sleep. Then, I went back and checked all the other dry bags, which most of course had taken on water too. My new name for dry bags is “splash bags” because that is all they are good for!
Here is a full accounting of items lost to the capsize:
1. On The Bottom of the Port Mansfield Channel East of Day Mark 11 (if you want to dive for it)
a. 2 x small anchors plus rode (one was over 20 years old!)
b. 21-year-old, handheld VHF (which didn’t work before the start. I was thinking about replacing it, but a wire brush on the battery contacts did the trick)
c. Fishing rod with spinning reel
d. Small box of fishing tackle
e. 5-year-old, prescription Oakley sunglasses
2. Lost to Water Damage
a. 2 x rechargeable power packs for iPhone recharging (fortunately, I had 3 and 1 survived!)
b. 8 x AA batteries
c. 2 x USB charging blocks
d. 2 x USB charging cables
In addition, all of my clothes and sleeping gear were wet and smelled of sea water the rest of the week. Lovely! The good news in all of this was that my food was all good because I had packed everything in zip lock bags before placing them in the dry bags. So, even though water got into the dry bag, the food was in good shape because it was double packed.
Once I ate and got everything sorted, it was after sunset and it was getting very dark. I decided I had done enough for the day and it was time to go to bed.
About 2:00 AM. I heard some rustling on the deck and woke up to find a raccoon getting into my food bag, So, I yelled at him to get off the boat, which he promptly did. I got up, packed all the food in the dry bag, put it back inside the hull, and locked the hatch so that no animals could get at my food.
While I was still on deck, a high-speed boat was coming up the channel and slowed when he saw Puppy Dawg. I heard him say, “That boat doesn’t have lights on.” I turned on my light on and said, “I’m camping here.” He left me alone and continued up the channel.
I went back to sleep and not long after I heard the raccoon getting into things on the deck again, I yelled and scared him off again, and he never came back after that.
Here’s a quick summary of days 2 through 5:
1. Day 2 / Tuesday – fast downwind sail to Camp 2 – no drama! Great afternoon relaxing and drying out after the capsize, but I should have taken the time to drop my mast and rerun the screecher halyard – too tired!
2. Day 3 / Wednesday – expected high winds again. So, I only put up the storm main. This made for a slow, under-canvassed day without the screecher. I contemplated stopping to change out mainsails, but in the end, I just decided to go slow for a change. Honestly, my average speed for the day was 6 knots in a 14-foot boat. So, not bad. When I got to the Padre Island Yacht Club PIYC, I knew I would need to short tack up the channel to get to the dock. It took about a dozen tacks, but I made it to the spoil shore across from the club and dropped the main. Then Cookie Craft Too offered me a tow across the channel – thanks guys! Later in the day, I finally had the time and energy to resolve the screecher furler issue and dropped the mast to get the screecher halyard rerun.
3. Day 4 / Thursday – got a ride from Rob McDaniel to Walmart to pick-up a replacement paddle for the one I broke during mooring maneuvers on Wednesday afternoon. As a result, I was the last boat out of the harbor. The plan for the day was to head across Corpus Christi Bay, up the ICW by Corpus Christi Bayou, across Aransas Bay, and up the ICW to Rattlesnake Island. I had fun drag racing a tug up the Corpus Christi Bayou ICW (I won). When I entered Aransas Bay, the wind had built significantly into the high teens with gusts into the 20s. I roared across Aransas Bay and up the ICW with average speed around 8 to 9 knots! I arrived around 5pm and thought I would see other boats since I was the last one to leave PIYC. At some point, I thought I was going to be spending the night alone again, but I saw some sails on the horizon that finally dropped anchor at around 7pm. Something was off about Rattlesnake Island, but I couldn’t put my finger on it for several hours. Then it came to me – ALL of the big trees I remembered from last year had been stripped from the Island by Harvey! This was going to be my last night out, and it was the best! The temperature was great, the breeze was cooling, and the stars / Milkyway were AMAZING!
4. Day 5 / Friday – on Wednesday, I decided to skip Army Hole and get home a day earlier than expected. It was directly upwind into San Antonio Bay from the anchorage. So, I asked the Crosswins crew for a short tow, and they obliged which helped avoid short tacking in shallow waters. Once into San Antonio Bay, it was clear it was going to be a close reach or close haul all the way to Matagorda Bay. San Antonio Bay was mostly 5 to 7 knots of boat speed, but as I approached South Pass the wind was building quickly. I was averaging 8 to 9 knots of boat speed coming into South Pass, and I knew I needed to slow down quickly. Bumping bottom or having my rudder kick-up at those high speeds would have been challenging at best and damaging at worst. So, I rolled up the jib, eased out the main, and slowed down to 3 to 4 knots. As it turns out, I did run across a small shallow spot that kicked the rudder up. At least in this instance, I listened to my intuition! The sail up the ICW past Port O’Conner was quick. As I turned into Matagorda Bay and got on course, it was yet another high wind, dead downwind passage. I made the best of it and made quick time the last 10 miles with boat speeds ranging from 5 to 11 knots but averaging about 8. As I approached Magnolia Beach, I noticed that there were 2 to 3 foot breakers crashing on the beach. So, I pulled around the West side of the boat ramp breakwater into a calm anchorage. However, in this location I couldn’t pull Puppy Dawg out with the trailer. So, I stripped everything off the boat and recruited 3 fellow sailors to help carry the main hull up the short beach to my trailer. After packing everything up, and a quick shower, I was on the road by 645pm – another Texas 200 DONE!
So, what did I learn this year? A lot! Here is a summary of lessons learned:
1. Listen to Your Intuition – on Monday, I had several opportunities to stop sailing for the day and get things back in order, but I kept pushing on because my ego wanted to get to camp 1. Not listening to my intuition and being tired led me to forgetting to tether into the boat and ultimately to capsizing! On Friday, listening to my intuition to slow down as I was hurling towards South Pass at 9 knots probably helped avoid some damage to the boat. Listen to your intuition!
2. Weta Capsize Recovery Procedure – While you always think that you hope you never need the information, I’m glad I watched the YouTube video on how to recover a capsized Weta. Without having watched this video, I doubt that I would have thought to bungee the port opening tool in a place where I could easily get to it when I needed it. Also, I’m sure I wouldn’t have ultimately righted the boat without that simple knowledge of the proper procedure. It is really an elegant design and makes me wonder if it would work on larger trimarans?
3. Dry Bags (aka “splash bags”) Don’t Work – dry bags are really splash protection bags. They are not meant to be submerged. If you are using dry bags and your boat could potentially capsize, then put everything inside of the “splash bag” into zip lock bags or other waterproof containers to keep the contents dry.
4. Strap Down Everything – I lost gear in the capsize (see above) because I failed to secure it to the boat. At least I had the sense to strap down my Yeti and my cockpit “splash bag”. While these two items would have floated, the fact that they were strapped to the boat saved me the effort of chasing them down wind.
5. Main Hull Leaks – I knew I had a few small holes in the aft deck of the main hull from some old fittings that had been removed, but I didn’t have time to repair them before the trip. As it turned out, these two ¼” holes ended up filling the main hull with a significant amount of water during the capsize. If water can get in, it will get in. Make sure your hull is water tight.
6. Dewatering Plan – All I had was a sponge, and that almost floated away while capsized as well! As fellow sailor Brian Graham pointed out later, I also had a Yeti mug that would have helped get the bulk of the water out and sped up the process. If you have a hull that can hold water, have a dewatering plan. I will carry a small pump going forward.
7. Halyard Stop Knots – When I dumped the screecher halyard on day 1, it ended up being out of commission for two more days. If I would have put a halyard stop knot in the halyard, this would have been avoided. However, this experience also reminded me that I need a better way to lower and raise my mast. I am working on a plan for a pivoting mast base that should do the trick.
8. Sleeping Configuration – Last year I just slept on the nets which was uncomfortable and at an angle. This year I carried an air mattress and slept half on the net and the other half on the side deck. This was much more level and comfortable! PS – I’m not a fan of shore camping.
9. Too Much Food – I went shopping on the last night before heading to Isabel, and I loaded up my cart with what I thought was the right amount of food. However, I found that about ¾ of what I allocated per day was plenty. So, maybe next time I’ll look at the calorie counts and get closer to what I need. Because I am single handing, I like to pack snacks in my life jacket and eat when I am hungry throughout the day because I do not like to stop for lunch. Some of the things I like include Laura Bars, nuts, Chia squeezes, and snack packaged olives. Things that do not work well on this type of trip for me are any grain-based products like bread, bagels, chips, and crackers – too many opportunities to get crushed or wet!
10. Vitamin A & D Ointment Works! – The Weta is a very wet boat! In 2017 the skin on my hands and feet shed for weeks due to too much salt water exposure. So, this year I endeavored to keep them dryer to start with, and then I applied Vitamin A & D ointment from Walgreen’s before sleeping and when waking up in the morning. I continued to do this for 3 days after the event as well, and I’m convinced that this made a big difference. No skin shed at all!
11. Better Off Sleeping Outside! – At PIYC, there was an opportunity to sleep inside in the AC. I was attracted to that option less by the AC and more by not having to set-up and break-down my tent since there was a chance of rain. In the end, I would have been better off sleeping outside. It didn’t rain, and inside was like a college sleeping dorm crowded with snoring people!
12. Weta Can Easily be Carried to Trailer – as noted above, I enrolled some fellow sailors to help carry the main hull of Puppy Dawg to the trailer at Magnolia Beach. This was easy with four people and could probably have been done with 2. Good to know for future adventures!
13. Simplify Gear and Lighten the Load – I have a habit of being over prepared. That must come from my Space Shuttle Mission Control experience of observing the preparations to be off the planet for days. Sometimes this strategy pays off like when I have 3 battery chargers and 2 of them fail. However, most of the time, it does not. I’m resolved to review my gear list and trim the fat.
14. On Your Knees! – Being on the Weta for days at a time is hard on the knees. You forget how many times you are kneeling on a boat to get things done. I learned this lesson in 2017, but I failed to write it down. So, I forgot to procure some quality knee pads. Not next time!
That’s it for this year. I trust this has been informative and will assist in your future adventure preparations!
Follow along on my journey as I create a blog about personal and business strategies for success, just reply with “I’m in” or subscribe at www.peterlange.me — Peter Lange
Add the Red Shark bike to the plethora of pedal-powered small craft currently on the market. Our friend Ian McGehee sent me a link to this one.
Ian noted how it doesn’t make any sense for one of the marketing videos to show “the thing going backwards with the current as the rider (with helmet but no PFD) pedals furiously.” His comment made me laugh out loud because in today’s world “appearance” is often more important than actual function (i.e., reality).
Another observation Ian made is that the craft lacks positioning “to safely paddle it from should the pedal mechanism or other drive elements fail.” Aside from wearing a PDF on this platform, any challenge to drive the boat if the pedal-drive mechanism fails will have to be noted by users.
Anyhow, many thanks to Ian for taking time to share the following links with us:
Red Shark article on the DailyMail website
Red Shark article on BikeRumor.com
Red Shark pedal-powered trimaran (official site)
YouTube Promo Video:
We first got a glimpse of the Trimore 560 trimaran here. But we never followed up with some vids of the boat actually sailing.
Today we remedy that … with 3 short videos that have been posted by John Nieboer, the builder and sailor of this sailboat. Enjoy.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
The Flying Flea is a 3-metre trimaran in Australia, and it’s now for sale. Someone in Oz is going to want to check this one out.
The write-up on the sales page says the following:
Aussie 3 metre sailing trimaran
Aussie 3 metre – great fun single sailing trimaran in excellent condition. Marine ply stitch and glue construction. Has sock sail and can be rigged by one person and light enough to pull onto the trailer without using the winch. Sail is in very good condition. Mast is two piece making it easy to transport.
A very easy and relaxed boat to sail and no need to worry about capsizing as it is very stable. Suitable for learner and experienced sailors alike.
The sale advertisement for the boat can be found here (at the time of this posting): https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/flaxton/sail-boats/aussie-3-metre-sailing-trimaran/1187972755
(Thanks for Small Tri reader/sailor Tony Waterman for giving me a heads-up about this boat!)
Here are some featured pics from the above site:
Self-boatbuilder / sailor Aaron de Ruiter shows off his finished Wa’apa double outrigger sailing canoe in the below video. Great looking boat.
Great looking sailing venue too. The YouTube info for this vid says, “On 14th July 2018 I went for a sail on the Hawkesbury River (north of Sydney, Australia) with Peter & Khiem from RAID Sydney.”
Thanks for sharing this with us Aaron :-)
Here is a Trilars trimaran all set up for micro-cruising. It was designed by Jim Michalak and building plans are on Duckworks.
This one is currently for sale in Texas. At the time of this post, the complete listing for this boat is found here: https://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/73855 The info includes the following:
“This boat was handmade in San Antonio, Texas by Brian Graham in 2017. Its a 15.5′ wooden custom trimaran that easily seats two adults and carries a surprising 100 sq ft of sail. This trimaran has just completed the 2018 Texas200. This boat weighs about 160lbs and cruises in the 7-8kn range, it has seen 10’s several times. The boat dimensions are 15.5ft x 8ft. Comes with 2015 licensed titled trailer. Title for boat and registration. Boat sleeps one adult in cuddy ca bin. This boat was designed to be an expedition micro Cruiser for events like the EC challenge and Texas 200. This boat is very low to the water like a kayak and only has 3 to 4in of freeboard.”
More pics and info on the Sailboatlistings.com page here: https://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/73855
Thanks to our friend Ian McGehee for sharing this one with us!
Original link-file location: https://www.sailboatlistings.com/sailimg/t/73855/main.jpg
Original link-file location: https://www.sailboatlistings.com/sailimg/t/73855/20180314_131755.jpg
Original link-file location: https://www.sailboatlistings.com/sailimg/t/73855/20180314_152322.jpg
Original link-file location: https://www.sailboatlistings.com/sailimg/t/73855/20180302_103128.jpg
This 17-foot aluminum Grumman canoe has been transformed into a sailing canoe with double outriggers. There appears to be a lot of workmanship has gone into creating this unique sailer/paddler too.
I spoke with the current owner Jeff, who is selling it on Craigslist. He has enjoyed it for a couple years and just has to move it because he wants to buy another boat. (Jeff buys boats, personally uses them, learns from them, and then sells them in order to acquire other boats so that he can continue learning and developing as a sailor).
As you can see from the images, there are 2 outrigger sets for this boat. One set was made by a company called Nielsen Outrigger (which no longer appears to have a functioning website). They feature a strong “fold-in” crossbeam, which are ideal for being out-of-the-way, while offering stability to the canoe when its in paddling mode.
Jeff gave me permission to use the pics, featured below, from his Craigslist ad – https://raleigh.craigslist.org/boa/d/trade-or-cash-17-grumman-sail/6637481579.html
He said this canoe is by far the most comfortable sailboat he owns at this time. I can see why.
Check out the info below and give him a call if you’re interested. (And many thanks to smalltrimarans reader Edward Hiestand for sending me the link to this boat! :-)
Jeff writes the following in his CL post:
“Selling my like new custom Grumman Sailing Canoe. Very easy to sail solo (or with a partner) and extremely stable with the easy to attach outrigger and amas. Very comfortable sailing position in seat (see pics). Currently located near the water near Oriental, NC. If serious, you could come down and I can show you how to both rig and sail the boat. Or if really serious, I could bring it back to Raleigh for you.
This is an almost brand new (zero dents, dings or scratches) Aluminum 17′ Grumman G1750c double canoe with + convenient launching dolly. Super light weight rig — can easily be car topped. If you need a trailer I could get you one — just ask.
Great light weight way to get into sailing or just a fine paddling boat!
Has tiller with extension and side dagger board for added stability + custom made motor mount. This boat comes with an almost brand new high quality Duckworth mainsail and either inflatable Balogh Sail Design (BSD) Amas and aluminum Akas or custom Nielsen designed fiberglass amas with adjustable heavy duty aluminum aka arms (they easily extend in or out). Everything almost brand new. Very comfortable and easy to rig and sail. A new Grumman G-1750c will cost you nearly $1600 alone. Also has custom motor mount for Minn Kota electric motor (sold separately — if needed).
I have too many boats; so just not using this one as I thought I would.
Also open to trades or partial trades + cash — kayaks (of all types), boat trailers, bikes (road and mountain – medium size), outboard motors, or other outdoor equipment.”
To inquire about this boat, contact Jeff via his CL ad at: https://raleigh.craigslist.org/boa/d/trade-or-cash-17-grumman-sail/6637481579.html
Update 07-31-18: Jeff sent me the following short video of this canoe under sail…
I received the following update regarding the home-built foiling trimaran project from Jim Gallant. He writes about the changes he made to the boat and their results.
As you will see, he is very pleased with his ongoing tweaks to this unique sailcraft. Really neat.
And may I quickly add that I never ceased to be amazed at the building skills of some folks in the smalltri community. Jim certainly falls into this category … wow. (Thanks for sharing this with us Jim, including the new pictures)!
……………….
Self-Built Hydrofoiling Trimaran Update…
by Jim Gallant
Thought I’d give you an update. I’ve been sailing, breaking and fixing my hydrofoil trimaran. Per my earlier missive, I did indeed replace the steering wheel with a traditional tiller and extension, which is much more intuitive.
I’ve also learned how to sail it. You have to stand up rather than sit down, about 2/3 of the way back on the windward tramp at the outer edge, keeping one foot forward and the other rearward. You cleat the main wheet (!), hang on to the main shroud on that side with one hand to steady yourself, and steer with the tiller extension with your other hand. Step back to increase the angle of attack and rise up on the foils, then lean forward to level the boat off. Shift weight fore and aft to maintain level pitch. Move or lean inwards or outwards to level out the yaw.
I’ve had foiling reaches about 2/3 of the way across the bay that I live on, so maybe foiling for 20-30 seconds, with in many cases near level “flight”. Frankly, I run out of water pretty quickly in our narrow bay.
I haven’t successfully completed a foiling jibe yet. A few times I’ve made it about 2/3 of the way through foiling, but then drop down to the water. I think it’s do-able though.
It is *super fun*. I love, love, love this boat. It has tremendous potential and performs really well now.
I plan to raise the amas about 6 inches next. It’s actually means just re-making new mounting bolt holes in the amas. Should go much faster when not foiling then, and perhaps make getting onto the foils faster and easier.
Anyway, I’m having a ton of fun with this boat. I’d say the design is a success!
You can see my new 6-wheeled dolly here:
Winch system for getting boat up the beach, bolted to the low bulkhead wall:
Revised steering system with traditional tiller and extension:
-Jim Gallant
The following link offers a peek at one fellow’s (a sailor named Rod) Slingshot trimaran on a webpage at Duckworks: https://duckworksmagazine.com/2018/07/25/rods-slingshot-trimaran/
(I discovered the above link while perusing the Internet last week.) You can find out more about the Slingshot on the page here and here.
Here is the link to a Seaclipper 16 that is for sale while still under construction. Although not typical of a boatbuilding project, this type of situation isn’t unusual.
Sometimes project are never completed, for one reason or another. The builder in this case — a very nice gentleman named Dave, has a good reason. So now, with this boat, the question becomes, “Who will finish it off and enjoy all of the hard work already put forth by the one who first got bit by the bug to build this terrific boat?” (Check out other Seaclipper 16 models posted here by using the search box on this site.)
The seller is, Dave Bredemeier, of Longmont, Colorado, writes:
I’m writing because I’ve had to give up work on my Seaclipper 16 trimaran. Sadly, I’m going to have to offer the project for sale because I’ve “run out of youth” at 82 years. (I find I’m no longer able to stand for long periods, as I did when I built a Bolger Anhinga sharpie from scratch, or my CLC 18 kayak from the kit.) Readers of this blog should be real familiar with this boat that has been shown here many times. You can see finished Seaclipper 16s sailing on You Tube and in the Jan 2017 edition of Small Boats Monthly, in addition to the pics shown here. What is actually for sale is the main hull ready for fiberglassing and painting, plus several sheets of marine plywood, misc. parts already cut out, and several; gallons of the West system epoxy resin and glass cloth needed to finish the boat. The provided plans are as new. The amas, crossbeams, decks and details still have to be built. It uses the rig and trailer from a Hobie 14, which I’ve not bought yet. I have $2400+ invested in materials & supplies, and am asking $1400 for everything connected to the project. Its all at my house in Longmont, CO. I figure its not that hard to move by buying a used boat trailer for it and reselling it when the trip is done. If you are serious about building small boats, and interested in taking over this project, I’m sure you’ll have lots of questions about it- and I’ll be glad to reply by email or phone. Thanks for taking a look!
The complete post, including contact information for Dave, can be found at the following URL: https://smallboatsmonthly.com/acadp_listings/seaclipper-16-trimarin-project/
(Thanks to Edward Hiestand for sharing this link with us!)
Smalltrimarans reader Jason Mart shared the following with me last week: https://annapolis.craigslist.org/boa/d/1991-outrigger-26-trimaran/6643755443.html
It’s a Dick Newick designed Outrigger 26 Trimaran for sale in New York. We’ve previously posted about this boat here and here.
For even more pics of the boat, including a few very good ones of the interior of the boat, go to the Craigslist ad for the boat here before it’s taken down: https://annapolis.craigslist.org/boa/d/1991-outrigger-26-trimaran/6643755443.html
