Lots of interest in the DIY hydrofoil trimaran in the previous post.

Just wanted to make sure you didn’t miss it in action … particularly the 2nd video I just posted.

Wow.

Pretty neat stuff!

DIY hydrofoil trimaran sailing

Check out the Neck Gaiter from Windrider. I just saw this new release on Amazon.

(Just in time for Christmas no less. Who’d have thunk it? :-)

All I know is it’s inexpensive and I’ve already given my wife-y the hint.

Anyhow, what about you?

Get one for you. You KNOW you’ll look super-cool in it!

Oh, yeah, it’s practical too. Will help protect your face and neck from the sun in a big way.

But the big thing is … you’ll really look super-cool in it.

Click on any of the images to go right to Amazon and get all the details:

I received the following this morning from Graeme Delaveau. Graeme’s small tri designs are featured both in my book and on this site: see here, and here and here.

He shares a few pics (and background info) with us below, just in time to remind me that my dream of endless summer still burns brightly within my soul :-)

Thanks Graeme!

…………………….

Compliments of the season Joe

A few multihulls gathered at beautiful Motuihe Island in the Hauraki Gulf, Auckland NZ, for
a BBQ , drinks and a laugh a few weeks ago.

There was a good mix of Cats and Tri’s and great to have two Nicky Cruz 25’s (7.6m) rafted up for the occasion.

Hope the winter isn’t too harsh this season Joe and hope you have a fantastic Christmas.

Cheers,
Graeme
Delaveau Multihull Design

I received the following a few days ago from Dutchy, the sailor who built and sails Woodmax.

He shares some very interesting follow-up info with us below, including a very short YouTube vid. It’s really neat though.

Dutchy writes:

A while ago I put some video’s of my trimaran “Woodmax” on youtube.

Now I got a question about hydrofoils from Hans Schipper. I realized I never shared any information about how I managed to make the foils of my “Woodmax”.

This is the story that happened before I made “Woodmax.”

To become experienced with trimarans, I decided to make a model trimaran. I started out with PVC tubing, this had a very smooth surface, but was too heavy.

That is why I changed materials (using polystyrene for the amas and thin Ceder wood for the vaka). I put in some radiographic controlled stuff and then the whole model weighted only 1 kilo!

After sailing without hydrofoils I had learned a lot about how she behaved. I realized that using foils would add an extra dimension to it.

I used foils with a flat downside and curvy upside. At first the foils were too small to give the right lift. The fact that this is a model makes it necessary too use relative large foils.

After this I started making “woodmax” including the foils for it.

Here you see the model in action:

I recently found the following webpage, written by multihull designer Richard Woods. His commentary focuses on “kayak style” sailing trimarans.

Just for the record, I love many of the kayak style tris for several reasons, including the ability (theoretically, at least) to use a paddle, instead of a motor, if necessary. The lighter the boat is the more likely it is to paddle, of course.

This being said, Richard’s comments are certainly worth taking into account. It’s important to really think through the ideal boat (for the particular sailor) based upon its intended purpose.

I link to Richard’s webpage on his site below. (And the YouTube video shown below is also linked to from Richard’s article.)

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“Kayak style” sailing trimarans
by Richard Woods

I copy this from the Strike 18 page but am posting it here as I think it is relevant to all sizes of small trimaran
===========================
Many small trimarans are basically kayaks with outriggers and have the crew sitting in front of the helmsman. Production versions include the various Hobie and Windrider trimarans (disclaimer, I have sailed a Windrider but not a Hobie trimaran. So please read this unsolicited email from an ex Windrider owner for more detailed comments). This “sailing kayak” concept has several major disadvantages.

Click here to continue reading the article on Richard Woods’ website…

………………..

Here is a stable trimaran platform for motoring (with bonus shade cover). It’s a bit different and looks like pure fun.

I mean, no sail … that can’t be good. Right?

But wait. Just hold on a minute. That little Honda 1.5 HP outboard motor from Kayakbuddys is very cool.

This old aluminum canoe, matched with 16-foot Expandacraft hulls, just begs for someone to go fishing … or something.

Sailor Thom Davis shares his thoughts about owning and sailing a SeaRail 19 trimaran over the past year in this post.

Great info and videos below. (Many thanks for sharing with us Thom!)

……………………

First year in review of SeaRail 19
by Thom Davis

First year recap with my experiences with the SeaRail 19. I sailed 19 times or about one and a half days per month on average. Each sail averaged about 2 hours on the water.

Top speed I saw was 16 kts but the boat wasn’t even close to being pressed at the time. I suspect it will go 20 or maybe even more … since I don’t race anymore, it will not likely see much faster.

Upwind the boat is a dream to single hand with the self tacking jib. I have the boat pretty much the way I want it, now; but since I enjoy puttering I’ll probably make more changes.

Three nagging issues … two are leaks, one ama leaks and daggerboard trunk leaks — nothing I can’t live with, but nagging issue nonetheless.

The last nag is lee helm. It is an irritant and I’ll work at more rake (but I need either a longer forestay or an extension); plus I’m getting close to mainsheet two block in a big breeze.

Finally, something that isn’t a nag but is something I’ll have to live with — my three previous boats were faster to get from trailer to sailing. I’m spoiled by the F242, Hobie Getaway and Triak … I’ll just have to live with it.

10-25-18 Sail in light wind

10-26-18 Sail in even lighter wind

Here is a trimaran being designed / built with a mission in mind. Go surfing!

Below we hear from surfer / sailor Trevor Parker about the sailboat he is has named the Wavedar 16.

Trevor’s definitely been bitten by the adventure bug and it’s infectious. His goals are both fun and inspirational.

The concept of this craft somewhat reminds me of the late Jan Gougeon’s boat named “Strings

Many thanks to him for sharing the following info and pics with us. (Click on images to enlarge them). To contact Trevor, as well as find out more about his online surfing community, be sure to go to https://the6tz.com/wavedar

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The Wavedar 16 Trimaran
by Trevor Parker

This boat idea mainly came about due to my sailing naivety. My main passion is really surfing and sailing to me is mostly a means to access unavailable surfing spots in order to avoid the crowds. I live in Camarillo California which is basically between the Channel Islands. Those islands block a lot of the Pacific swell which means when the coast is flat the islands still have great waves. I originally bought a $2100 Catalina 27 and began exploring the islands with that vessel while learning how to actually sail. With that boat I learned a lot but more importantly realized it didn’t fit my specific needs.

I disliked that in order to operate the boat the skipper has to be outside. Biminis and Dodgers don’t block wind well or insulate temperature. All the boats that have an enclosed cockpit or steering position are usually 35 foot+. The boat was 27 feet long which some may consider small but for weekend adventures/camping trips it was more space than I needed. The problem with extra space and size is that it all comes at a cost. Hand scrubbing the bottom paint, slip feels, and any maintenance jobs increase with size. The Channel Islands create excellent swell shadows that can completely block the swell on one side of the island but sometimes the wind is magnified on the Lee side after being funneled through canyons. This can make anchoring stressful when its gusting 40+ in the night; I just wanted to be able to pull the boat on the beach and sleep like a baby.

I couldn’t find any designs that addressed my problems and desires. The boats were either too big and expensive or too small and not sea worthy. I had been building and designing wooden surfboards for the past 3 years throughout college and thought I could take my surfboard building skills, add a couple feet of length and add walls to build my own boat. Now I know that’s not the case, but I’m glad I started.

The surfboard culture has recently been shifting to shorter wider boards based on the theory of modern planning hulls made popular by Daniel Thompson. I basically proportioned one of those boards to 8 feet and used that as my base. I know that specific shape, even when flat, planes well and just needed to throw a rockered bow that would provide lift to get the hull up on plane. I’ve received a lot of suspicions from friends about the flat bottom design but my thinking is that a sharp point is meant to cut. My hull is meant to plane and a pointed bow would make the base go into the wave rather than over it. I love talking displacement versus planning sailboats but don’t want to get too far off topic. Basically the middle hull is designed to be a surfboard with walls.

As I’ve never built or designed a boat before and have no CAD skill or experience, I’ve been stuck with drawing all my designs with pencil, ruler, and paper. I’ve changed the design a plethora of times and probably will continue to until its finished. It’s been designed as a junk rig, monohull with Lee boards/hydrofoil, and everything in between. It’s extremely inefficient, but I am so glad I didn’t completely build off the initial design. I am hoping this organic and dynamic style of building will lead to some innovation or even better, a working boat.

As of today, 12/22/18, she is designed to be a 13″ main hull with two attached prindle 16 hulls which makes LOA 16. I’m thinking the 3 feet of Prindle hull in front of the main hull will reduce hull slap as they are very fine cutters. The amas will fold in which will change the beam from about 8 feet to around 11ish feet when expanded. That design element was heavily inspired by Frank Smoot’s Slingshot 16. Her sailing rig will also be off the Prindle 16 with a modified down haul system to allow for full reefing from inside the pilothouse. Speaking of pilot house, I am still trying to figure out how to bring all running lines to some sort of dashboard inside and also allow for outside steering and trimming for days when it’s nice. The drawings I sent you include a stern deck that will pop up into a tent like a car “roof tent”. This will allow for more sleeping space on board just in case I ever get a a girlfriend lol. The model name of the boat is set after its purpose of comfortably finding good surf. Wavedar is the radar for waves.

As in the past, the design is still dynamic and there’s still a lot of work to be done and money to be spent. As I just graduated college I have time but no money or career. I’m quite fortunate my dad is letting me construct this “experiment” in his backyard but the patience is wearing thin. I am always curious of how others find the time, finance, and motivation to build there own boats and your website is a great resource for that. I love talking boats and haven’t got to write about my boat, Tarah, for awhile and it’s nice to know somebody cares. Let me know if you need anything else.

Fair wind, fair waves,
Trevor Parker

The following info and vids feature the Trika 540 trimaran and are copied directly from their page sources on YouTube.

We’ve previously seen the Trika here and here on smalltrimarans.

These videos offer some more insight into this wonderful paddling-sailing kayak. Be sure to note, for example, how nicely the boat tacks.

I hope more builders are inspired to build this craft in coming years. The designer, Klaus Metz, also offers a larger version. You can see it here and here.

…………………….

Building stages Trika 540-2 trimaran – O-Vives

“All building stages and launching of the trimaran “Ô-Vives”, a Trika 540-2 designed by German Metz-Boats and built in the Federico “Fiky” García’s shipyard in Piriápolis, Uruguay, with the assistance of my elementary workforce during 2018 Austral winter-spring. Pictures: Daniel Caselli. Camera GoPro: Liliane Fazan” – Video description on YouTube

“Launch of the trimaran “Ô-Vives”, class Trika 540-2, designed by Metz-Boats of Germany, and built in the shipyard of Federico “Fiky” García in Piriápolis, with the help of my elementary workforce during the winter-spring 2018. Thank you Fiky, thank you my family Liliane and Ian. And also, of course, Carlos and Horacio, teachers in their shipyard jobs. It was a beautiful sailboat that, because of the little that was tried, sails splendidly.” – Video description on YouTube

John Marples shared a pdf with me a few months ago on the topic of anchoring multihulls. It’s a copy of an old article he wrote for Multihulls Magazine, back in 1986.

It really speaks to cruising boats, of course, but is still applicable to larger trailerable multis, including tris. This piece nicely features John’s writing and drawing style, which are a strength in all of his boat-building plans.

John was enthusiastic about us sharing it with readers, but he was quick to point out this particular article doesn’t include the new types of anchors that have come on the scene since this article was originally published.

He also said he now thinks it’s a mistake to use the anchor known as the “Bruce” as a single overnight anchor. In other words, in John’s opinion, if you want to use a Bruce anchor for a very brief period of time (as a lunch hook, or something) then fine. But he now thinks its best not to use that type of anchor as a standalone one to keep a multihull secured overnight, or longer.

John is an accomplished naval architect and marine surveyor. You can find out more about his services and boat-building plans, including how to contact him, via his website at www.searunner.com

Click on the image below to download and enjoy reading John’s 1986 article.

Sailor Richard Mulligan is selling his Windrider 17 trimaran. He asked me if we’d post his write-up about the boat (including pictures) and we’re glad to help him get the word out.

I got to do a little bit of sailing on a Windrider 17 this past May, at the Cedar Key boat meet-up in May of 2018. It was really fun that day. The breeze was hard and steady and the 17 was just blowing by most of the other sailboats on the water.

This production model has many fans, and a lot of people have discovered they really like sailing after taking a ride in a Windrider.

Richard lives in Jupiter, Florida. Anyone interested should contact him directly via his contact information below.

…………………..

2015 Windrider 17 trimaran for sale – loaded, with aluminum trailer and many other options, including motor! $11,000 obo

This is the most versatile small sailboat you can buy. Even for a trimaran, it is exceptionally stable and almost impossible to capsize (13 foot beam on a 17 foot boat), yet it is also very fast, with a second headsail (a screecher) to boost performance in winds under 16 mph (14 knots). Sail controls are all routed to the rear cockpit, so it is easy to single-hand and race, even with all three sails flying; but its expansive seating can also comfortably accommodate a crew of six, including the skipper/helmsman, for social sailing. It is also very well adapted for expedition-style cruising (sail-camping trips), with lots of area to pitch a tent on it, and lots of storage space in the main hull.

The hull is rugged no-maintenance rotomolded plastic, like the Hobie Wave’s and Getaway’s.

Rudder control is by foot pedal, freeing the hands for eating, drinking, or sail handling; but there’s also a backup hand control.

Comes standard with a mainsail and a furling jib, but also has a factory option furling screecher, for a total of three sails

This boat is 3.5 years old and in great condition. Brand new, it and its options would cost close to $16,000, so the $11,000 price is a real bargain!

Factory options (beyond standard features) include:

– Aluminum Trailer
– Mid-boom sheeting in addition to standard rear-boom sheeting
– Hand steering in addition to standard foot-pedal steering
– Center cockpit foot pedals in addition to standard rear cockpit foot pedals
– Windshield
– Motor Mount
– Screecher (second headsail for light to medium air) with furling capability

Non-factory add-ons include:

– Quick-removable aluminum benches
– Topping lift and track stop
– Furling (swiveling) boom for rapid raising, lowering, reefing, and unreefing of the mainsail (meaning all three sails can be furled and unfurled)
– 2002 Honda 2 hp outboard motor

This boat is so rugged and stable that you’ll be flying around in weather that sends most other small sailboats (including multihulls) scurrying for shore. You can even cleat the main when the wind is gusting suddenly and unexpectedly from 5 knots to 25 knots.

Fun, fast, versatile, and exceptionally safe. What more could a small-boat sailor want!

Call 630-886-9297 or email richardjmulligan AT yahoo.com for more info.

Sailor John Morfit is selling his Catri 24. He shared some great links to get more info about this boat too.

First, his own webpage: http://catri24.com

And then, a link to Stephen Walker’s web blog (Stephen is dealer John purchased his boat, named TARDIS, from in the UK.

John writes: “He relates the story of his journey with Tardis from Riga (build location) to Dover, UK. This story starts on 9 June 2005 near the bottom at http://www.ahoy-boats.info/archives/sailing/2005_06.html, and continues into July at http://www.ahoy-boats.info/archives/sailing/2005_07.html, and some more adventures in October at http://www.ahoy-boats.info/archives/sailing/2005_10.html.”

We’ve previously posted about the Catri 24 trimaran model here.

As you can see from the following video, this is a particular model that can really fly. According to John’s website, the boat is located, “On the West River, Near Shady Side, MD. The West River feeds into the Chesapeake Bay, about 10 miles south of Annapolis, MD.”

Sailor Mike H. is selling his Piver Nugget. Both the model and this particular boat have a rich history in California (see the PDF linked to below).

The following write-up is part of Mike’s current ad posting on Craigslist.

I’d love to go for a sail on someone’s Nugget someday.

Anyone interested in this boat can inquire more about it by contacting Mike via the email feature on Craigslist.

…………………………….

24′ Trimaran Piver Nugget

Great boat for someone willing to do a little work.

The bad:
Someone painted the topside with house paint and it is starting to flake/peel.
There is a minor leak in the cabin sliding door, only when it rains,it is easily protected by a tarp during the rainy days.
There is 1 spot in the cabin wall that leaked and rotted a 12″x12″ section. This will need to be cut out and replaced.

The Good!
Kaija has a rich history as a Santa Cruz native. Built by Kurt Larson in Pleasure Point at the age of 18 in 1964.
She was later resurrected and restored by local Santa Cruz Yacht Club historian, Niels Kisling in 2012 after sitting in a backyard for 39 years.

https://club.scyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Spinnaker-Sheet-2012-10-Web.pdf

It’s nice to see how much this boat meant to so many people around the harbor.
Comes with everything you need to set sail. Including a 4hp/4 stroke, starts on the first pull, Mercury OB motor.
Main sail, Genoa, and self tacking jib. All rigging and some extra ropes/bumpers, etc. Flares, life jackets, Marine Radio.
Kaija, is easily sailed single handed.

Super fun to sail. The cabin is just large enough for two people to sleep aboard, I am often the only sailboat out there, as she can sail in less wind than most. In moderate wind, She is fast and sails flat, a true joy to sail.

We are sad to see her leave our family, but we are moving up to a larger Tri.

The TF10 trimaran is billed as “the next generation of foiling.” It’s a new high-tech sailing machine designed by Morrelli & Melvin.

Some sales copy from the main website: America’s Cup technology now available for all sailors! Introducing the TF10, the next generation of foiling. The TF10 is designed at it’s core for more controlled foiling. The TF10 combines attributes learned from previous ground-breaking foiling yachts, and provides a foiling trimaran platform for all high-performance sailors to experience.”

Here are a few more links and video of the TF10 trimaran …

https://www.sailingworld.com/tf10-trimaran

https://www.sail-world.com/news/214065/The-new-foiling-TF10-trimaran

http://dnaperformancesailing.com/category/tf10-trimaran/

http://dnaperformancesailing.com/our-boats/dna-tf10-foiling-trimaran/

John Marples has just written a new article about synthetic rigging for use on small boats. For us, of course, this means small trimarans :-)

We share it here with his permission.

This article specifically focuses on Dyneema SK75 rigging. John highly recommends it for all small boats.

He now includes this information as part of the plan sets for his sailing multihulls.

……………………..

SYNTHETIC FIBER RIGGING FOR SMALL BOATS
by John Marples

Until recently, synthetic fiber rope has not been available for standing rigging. Now, two products Dynex Dux (Hampidjan) and STS (Teufelberger/New England Ropes), are made from Dyneema SK-75 High Modulus Polyethylene and have similar stretch characteristics to stainless steel cable. These non-metallic ropes have obvious advantages for the small boat sailor since they are soft, will not rust, and will not scar brightwork. They can be spliced easily without special tools, except for a good ceramic knife, or hot knife, for cutting the tough fibers.

Fig. 1. Various sizes of Dynex Dux for standing rigging.

High strength fiber rope has around for some time now, but until it was produced in a new form, it was not suitable for standing rigging. Although stronger than steel cable, the basic rope suffers from having high stretch. Most of the stretch is called “constructional stretch”, which is caused by the fibers settling into a tight braid as load is applied. Once the settling is complete, the rope only exhibits “material stretch”, a characteristic of the type of material from which it is made. Dynex Dux and STS have been “heat set” by compaction into a more condensed braid under heat while under tensile load. This process removes the constructional stretch, leaving only the material stretch. Dynex Dux is not made in less than 5mm, so SK-75 Dyneema rope can be used.

Another stretch characteristic of continual elongation over time when under load is called creep. Creep is virtually non-existent in steel cables, but is measurable with synthetic fiber ropes. For both Dynex Dux and STS, the amount of creep in normal usage will not be a factor. Rigs with high standing preloads may require an occasional tightening. For most small craft with floppy rigs, or trailer sailers, it is insignificant.

Not only is the fiber rope a direct replacement for steel cable, but much of the attachment hardware can be changed to lashings to eliminate other metallic components. Avoiding the use of expensive turnbuckles and toggles and replacing them with simple lashings will reduce costs significantly. Off-the-shelf components are available to allow the boat builder to fabricate all shrouds and stays for the boat. One supplier, Colligo Marine (www.colligomarine.com) has an array of special thimbles and cable terminal fittings available. Many of these fittings are designed to connect to existing tangs and pins for direct replacement of metal cables. Others allow the builder to optimize the spliced-loop end cables for original construction. Here are a few samples:

Fig. 2. Colligo Marine “Terminator” thimble with lashing holes and rigging pin hole. It is made of aluminum with a snug fitting groove for the rope. The eye splice is made with rope fitted into the thimble for a tight fit.

Fig. 3. Typical use of the Terminator on a mast with existing tangs and rigging pin.

Fig. 4. Terminator thimbles on the rigging lower end attached to turnbuckles.

Fig. 5. Lower end Terminator fitting with a lashing to a shackle on the chainplate. The lashing rope does not lose strength wrapping around the shackle since it is small in diameter.

Fig. 6. Colligo Marine “Cheeky tang” for direct attachment of a loop end onto the mast. This single fitting replaces a tang set with rigging pin and Terminator fitting.

Fig. 7. This is as simple as it gets. The rope is spliced onto a standard oversize thimble and then lashed to a U-bolt chainplate.

Direct Conversion.

For small boats, the stainless steel rigging cable can be replaced with Dyneema SK75, Dynex Dux or STS fiber rope of the same size. The fiber rope will be 50% stronger. Dynex Dux minimum diameter is 5mm, so for anything smaller, use SK 75 Dyneema line from your local marine hardware supplier. For thimble terminals, use heavy duty “Sailmakers”, complete ring thimbles about 50% larger than specified for the rope diameter. If larger than 3/16”, consider using the Colligo Marine Terminator fittings. Colligo Marine offers splicing instructions and other helpful videos on their web site.

John Marples, Yacht Designer
295 Bayview Road
Penobscot, ME. 04476
207-326-8096
marplesmarine @ gmail.com

Sailor Michael Schreibman is reluctantly parting with his unique daysailor (dubbed ALIEN). This boat is undoubtedly going to give its new owner a lot of fun.

See our original post about the Alien Trimaran here.

According to Michael, this boat has a new light weight Honda motor, state of the art sails. Harken hardware. Sunrise tramps. All aluminum trailer.

Alien was designed and professionally built by Chislett boats builders in Rhode island. The original plan was to produce the concept as a one-design and this boat was built as the prototype.

Mike shares the story of his last sail on this unique boat below. Enjoy!

Anyone interested in this buying boat should contact Mike via his listing on Craigslist.

………………………

SAILING THE ALIEN TRIMARAN
by Michael Schreibman

My last sail on Alien was as fun and exciting as any I have had in all the time I have owned her. In the last 15 years I have I have enjoyed sailing on Long Island sound, off the coast of Cape Cod, and for these last few years on San Carlos bay off Sanibel Captiva and Pine island.

Now that I am 76 years old, and have slowed down after some advanced surgery, I realized that my time with her was coming to an end. I invited my friends , Fred and Linda, who were avid great lakes fisherman, and who’ s boating experience was limited to a 14 foot aluminum pram with a 7 hp motor for a 2 hour sail.

Despite also being advanced in age, and no longer very nimble, they were curious to experience a sail in Alien that they thought more resembled a jet fighter plane than any boat they had ever seen, and were excited to try something new.

I waited for a warm Florida day. Everything was perfect. The sun was shining, the winds were 10 knots, and even aligned with the dock, so the sails could be raised and everything rigged before they climbed on board and settted into safe and comfortable position on the trampolines, for what I planned as a smooth relaxing sail.

The tiny Honda motor started as always on the first pull and as we motored into the bay, I handed the tiller extension to Linda and coached her how to steer. She was delighted and amazed how responsive the boat was to her slightest input, and in short order I no longer had to help her keep things pointed in the right direction.

As we passed the last marker (with the sign advertising the Ragged Ass Saloon), I pointed to a tower across the bay, that would put us on a close reach and instructed Linda to point twords that tower, and keep that course.

I rolled out the Gary Myers black mylar pentex self tacking jib, set the jib and main sheets and watched the delight my passengers experienced as I shut down and retracted the motor, and Alien accelerated and lifted her windward hull as we swept across the bay.

Within a few minutes I noticed that the wind had increased from a sedate 10 knots to a brisk 15 to 18. I advised my passengers to shift position more to windward to better balance the boat. It was at this point that I realized my passengers were having quite a bit of difficulty shifting themselves up hill on the trampoline.

The wind continued to build and by now we were screaming across the water that was building a 2 to 3 foot chop. A rooster tail was now flying off the stern, and an occasional wave tip would sheer off as it struck our cross beams and give us a thorough but refreshing dousing.

We were quickly running out of deep water and it was time to tack. I explained to my passengers the procedure involved and that as the main crossed over they were to shift to the windward side. That tack was the most hilarious thing I had ever experienced in all my sailing.

As we took the new heading Linda somehow wound up spread-eagled flat on her back with no hand hold. As we powered up, a 60 foot sport fisherman was blasting up the inter-coastal, and passed close in front of us.

The wake was enormous and almost all of it came on board so that both Fred and I had to hang on to Linda’ legs to keep her from washing overboard. She was laughing so hard, and actually said that was the best day she had ever had on the water.

We sailed for another hour or so with my crew taking turns steering and setting the sheets, and it was so nice to share the beauty and elegance of a beautiful sail with appreciative friends.

Alien is now for sale, and is viewable on S.W. Florida Craigslist under “Alien 22′ trimaran sailboat”.

Sailor Thom Davis shares the following in reply to a request made to him in the comments area of the recent article about synthetic rigging.

He writes:

Tom asked me for more information related to how to make cascades with Ronstan Shocks in lieu of Colligo parts. Attached are two photos of what I have on my boat showing the tensioning mechanism for the shrouds.

The shocks are the red aluminum pieces; each one has a breaking strength of a thousand pounds. They are attached to the shrouds or the ama Eye bolt by a continuous loop of dyneema using a larger diameter line (red line with the same diameter as the shroud). Continuous loops are not locked like brummels, so I sew the crossover just to be safe. Under tension, the length of the crossover keeps it from coming apart (think chinese handcuffs), but dyneema is pretty slippery, so better safe than sorry.

It is possible to omit the dyneema loops if you can thread the shocks onto the ama eye bolt (possible on some designs) and/or splice the shocks directly onto the shroud (like colligo does with their terminations). I already had the shrouds made, so this is just an “add on”.

As I said, not as pretty as the colligo stuff, but costs less than half.

Respectfully,
Thom Davis

Check out the following video featuring James Bond sailing a Mantis trimaran.

Well … okay … that’s not exactly true, but you get it. The guy may as well be James Bond.

He is an image for their ideal target customer.

I really don’t like that sailing tends to be disassociated from most middle-class folk nowadays. And videos like the following even further stoke the reality of it being being a thing for mainly the upper class.

That being said, boat designers don’t control economics; they react to economics. Which means James Bond impersonators are going to get to fly on Mantis tris.

The following is taken from the page at: https://www.rya.org.uk/newsevents/news/Pages/Flying-Mantis-Dinghy-Show-2019.aspx

The award-winning Flying Mantis foiling trimaran will be showing the latest, all red hull design at this years’ RYA Dinghy Show, in association with Yachts & Yachting and Suzuki (02-03 March, Alexandra Palace, London).

Voted best Dinghy of the Year against stiff competition in the recent British Yachting Awards, the Flying Mantis makes foiling attainable for sailors of all shapes, sizes and levels of ability. This all carbon dinghy can accommodate taller sailors, weighing up to 120kgs, whilst the two sleek, wave piercing outriggers bring excellent stability. Click here to read the rest…

A Floridian sailor named Sandy is selling his Tramp trimaran, which is located about an hour north of Orlando.

Health and time restraints prevented the finishing of the work required for the boat to be put back together.

All of the parts are accounted for but the boat needs to be rigged. (It was de-rigged in order to paint the mast.)

The boat comes with 2 suits of sails and its trailer is in good condition. According to Sandy, all of the running and standing rigging is in fair, usable condition, and the boat also has new trampolines,

It just needs paint and minor cosmetic work, and could be on the water again in a couple days, once it’s together.

The asking price is $7500, as is, and anyone interested can go to craigslist “Orlando” to see more photos.

Sandy shares some background info with us, along with a few pics of the Tramp, below.

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Tramp Trimaran for Sale in Florida
by Sandy Graves

The first time I went sailing was in Texas on a lake on a trimaran in 1954. I bet you didn’t know that people had trimarans back then. It was owned by my dad’s navigator on his bomber crew (B-47).

I have a vague recollection of it as I was only eight but it seems like it was about the same size as a Tramp. I have no idea who the designer and builder were.

The next boat I sailed on was my uncles Hobie Cat in the late sixties or early seventies. After that, I began to buy and sail boats in my early 20’s. I owned a Snark, a Windmill, a Pelican, Chrysler day sailor, all of which I sailed.

I rehabbed an A-Cat and a 505, but never completed them or sailed them. I built, from scratch, a gaff rigged Bannock pram from plans in Boatbuilder magazine. Then I bought a Hirondelle catamaran, which I completely rehabbed, and sailed extensively and lived aboard for a couple of years.

My present wife and I bought a Gemini catamaran at the St Pete Sailboat Show two years before I retired from the fire department and we lived aboard her and traveled in her for 5 years, and I designed and build a tender/dinghy for our Gemini. I have sailed many other small sailboats and owned a couple of power boats. I am getting ready to build a Jimmy Skiff II.

Sadly, I never got to sail the Tramp, which I named Lemon Peal (my other boats were Lion’s Paw, Lily Pad, Lollipop), and we called them LP for short. Coincidently someone at the marina here has just bought one, and has invited me to go sailing with him so I still hope to get to sail a Tramp.

I bought her from a member of our largest local sailing club, who I don’t think got to sail her either, because I wanted a boat that was stable and had a large cockpit so that I could teach my grandchildren (10 total) to sail.

It would also be a great platform for swimming at the springs around where I live. It was the only boat that fit all my needs, trailerable, large, stable, bright color for safety.

Here are some pictures while she was still rigged. Currently, the mast is without rigging but I have pictures of where everything goes.

She need some body work and paint but has the potential to be beautiful when done. The tramps are new and very nice.

Sandy Graves
407-592-1207

I’ve seen these RC (i.e., remote controlled) sailboats on YouTube. Don’t know much about them, but these tiny craft are enjoyed by fans all over the world.

This past week, Ian Holt shared some info with me about RC multihulls and I thought it might interest a number of readers. I’ll let Ian take it from here, in his own words, from the email he sent to me. (Thanks for sharing this info with us Ian :-)

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Hello Joe, my name is Ian, I am British, with a home in Perth, West Australia but I currently work in the Philippines. I have seen your website and blog on small trimarans, and thought I would contact you, since I sail VERY small trimarans!

I sail in the Mini40 class, a 1/10th scale class of the Formula 40s that were popular in Europe in the 1980s, so the maximum size is 4ft long x 4ft wide. I have a full size boat and a smaller tri which is only one metre long x one metre wide

The full size (122cm x 122cm) tri can be seen here:

Videos of my 100cm boat in action can be found here:

I am using the conventional “V” style (or hydroptere) setup for the foils which only give lift so I am reliant on the width of the boat and its weight for stability.

I have put together a short history of my multihull developments and experiments (not all successful!) to date. You might find some of this of interest: https://allpdfdownloads.s3.amazonaws.com/rc-multihulls-boats.pdf

Hope this of interest to readers.

— Ian