I just discovered the online catalog for the Mariners’ Museum’s International Small Craft Center is now up and running. They’ve been gathering a large number of pieces, including information and images related to the boats, places and people associated with small craft.

A few years ago, I learned that if my wife and I are vacationing together, she would permit me to be dropped off (alone) at any boat museum for about 4-5 hours, so she could go shopping (alone) during those same hours. Now, I ask … what boat-loving husband could refuse such an offer?

Not me :-)

This means I’m already looking forward to visiting this new area of the Mariners’ Museum in 2014. Even though the focus isn’t on multihulls there are already a couple in their boat collection.

Here is a picture of their “Banca” double outrigger canoe from the Philippines…

And here is a “Ngalawa” double outrigger canoe from Africa (Tanzania region, to be more specific)…

Jim Brown knows the Mariner’s Curator, who told Jim that one of things they’re going to do is highlight individuals related to development of small craft — including multis. The plans include offering still images and video clips. They hope to include stuff about guys like Jim, Dick Newick and Aurthur Piver very soon.

Apart from sailing, I can hardly think of a way to spend a few hours of properly designated leisure time in a place that offers as much fun. When you have a moment, visit the Mariners’ Museum website and view the full catalog.

Here is a fun article featuring one sailor’s introduction to the Weta trimaran. It comes to us from All At Sea.

“My introduction to the Weta trimaran came on a snowy winter day in Baltimore, along with a promise of a free koozie. The 14-foot trimaran was one of the few sailboats on display at what was traditionally a power and fishing show. Three years later, I’m a proud Weta owner, learning by trial and error how to sail it smarter and ultimately faster. And fortunately for me, there are three great regattas in my home state of Florida that attract Weta owners from across the country. At the end of the day, though, it’s not all about the racing.

My husband, Clint, and I were exactly who Roger and Chris Kitchen had in mind when they designed a boat that was simple but still quick enough to be exciting. As a novice, I was looking for a small, stable boat to brush up on my sailing skills. The carbon fiber elements in the Weta make it light enough for me to assemble the boat and launch on my own. Once on the water, the helm is responsive and the three hulls keep the boat stable, giving me the confidence to explore and grow as a sailor.” Click here to continue reading the Weta article on the All At Sea webpage…

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Small tri friend Stefano recently sent links to these videos. They feature a self-designed, self-built trimaran from a fellow named Ernie Maud.

According to the YouTube info about this boat, the LOA is 16 ft. and its beam measures over 11′ 8″.

The 2 YouTube vids (shown below) were posted by Ernie on his YT channel. (Ernie, if you see this post, please contact me so we can find out some more about this tri :-)

Stefano writes: “These videos offer nice glimpses of a self drawn and built small tri with some interesting tidbits:

• Mast is in a tabernacle and stepped way forward …
• … so is the daggerboard
• Is foldable
• May be self-draining
• Sports very wide trampolines
• Attractive and efficient”

As always, thanks for sharing Stefano! This is the sort of stuff I love smalltrimarans readers letting me know about.

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The Saildrone is basically an unmanned 19-foot trimaran. Wired magazine just featured an online article about this high-tech wonder.

It’s a great article too. Especially the way it talks about traditional sailboat sails and airplane wings. Here is a sample paragraph:

“Sailboats have sails. Aerodynamically speaking, a sail is a wing. But the angle of a sail relative to the air moving across it—the wind, in other words—is controlled and adjusted by means of ropes and pulleys. Tremendous force (and usually a winch) is needed to set a sail so that it cuts through the wind at the correct angle and creates the lift that moves the boat. And then the problem becomes keeping the sail at the correct angle. The boat may turn, which turns the sail with it. The boat may speed up, which changes the speed and direction of the wind passing over it. Or the wind may shift, changing speed and direction all on its own. In every case, the angle must be readjusted manually—that’s what is meant by trimming a sail.”

The developer of this boat, Richard Jenkins, became an expert in sail power by working on, as the Wired article puts it, “an odd type of boat: a land yacht, with wheels instead of a keel, and a hard wing instead of a soft, floppy sail. The owner of the yard explained that he had built it for a customer who wanted to break the world land-sailing speed record…”

Jenkins did break the record by the way. He got the land yacht up to 126 MPH.

You can see a video of that record breaking event, as well as the video shown here, on Wired magazines webpage. (Special thanks to smalltrimarans reader Robin Bennett, who sent me the link to this story on Wired! :-)

Here is an article link to a GizMag story featuring an amphibious trimaran. (After the previous post, I am forced to conclude this must be “high-tech” week at smalltrimarans. :-)

The intro to the article reads, “Here’s one you might not have heard before … Whaddaya get when cross a hovercraft, an airboat and a pontoon boat? Give up? An ATASD, or Amphibious Trimaran with Aerostatic Discharge! OK, it’s not that funny, but the vehicle itself is pretty cool. It can travel over virtually any surface, and should soon be heading into production.”

Following are a few of the photos, plus 2 YouTube videos. Images are linked to directly from their location on the GizMag site. Be sure to read the full article though to see all of the pictures, plus read the full story behind this new craft.

This small trimaran is being constructed from mostly old parts and pieces of this, that and the other thing :-) Sailor Hans Schipper sent me a the following photos of the boat he is building.

Seriously, it’s amazing what human ingenuity can achieve in this sense. Hans is building his “new” trimaran from “old” parts. It looks pretty neat too.

One thing that is really different about this boat is his choice for a center hull. He has chosen to use a hull from a Coolcat beach catamaran. I’ll let him tell you about it though.

Hans promises to send more pictures (and video too) when the boat finally hits the water. We’re already looking forward to that!

Now, take it away Hans … and thanks for sharing this with us!

…………………….

Making a “New” Trimaran From Old Parts
by Hans Schipper

I started sailing in a bathtub-shaped little boat. It had made it with a bamboo mast and used an old Jib as mainsail. I was fourteen at the time. When I think about it, I wonder if I’m still doing the same sort of thing now!

As I got older, I sailed and worked aboard several different small boats and cabin cruisers. These days, I mostly enjoy my Rogger motorsailer. But for me, real sailing happens on small boats.

For example, I’ve had a really good time with a wooden tempo scow (a sailing boat with the shape of a big surf board.)

In November, 2013, I was in California where my daughter lives. We made a trip on a trimaran with a friend of hers. He lives on that boat for part of the year near Santa Barbara. That began my interest in trimarans.

Inspired by smalltrimarans.com, I started to build my own trimaran from parts that I got from Craigslist, in addition to those purchased per kilo at the old ironmonger.

Last winter I made small hulls and attached them to an old Simoun 4.85 sailboat … It sailed okay, but it looked like a boat with “training wheels” and was all together too heavy. (Image below).

A re-design was the next step. As you can see from images below, pieces for everything even include rollerwheels from a light harbour trailer.

The main hull is from a Coolcat 4.75 meter catamaran. The outrigger hulls are taken from a catamaran for children.

The frame is aluminum, partly welded and partly assembled with popnails. I also used old scaffolding parts, which make for a very handsome area for sitting.

The deck is of composite wood, which is used as trims for terraces. The rudder is from the Simoun 4.85.

I plan on using a smaller made sail from a Nacra 5.2.

Self Built Trimaran Starting to Come Together

Now I am working with the rigging.

Including paint and welding I think I will built this tri for just about € 700 in materials. The name of this boat will be “Triple A”.

I enjoy the process of solving problems at every step during the construction.

For this design, it’s important to me that this boat not be too heavy. I want to be able to launch it in the water by hand on a light cart. And I want to sit rather comfortably at my age (63). The floats are removable so I can use a regular place on the harbour.

I really enjoy this website, seeing all the different designs. It was so much fun to see the one with the title, “Can your trimaran do this?”

I think I’ve added a new type of design to smalltrimarans.com. I will send more pictures and a video when it is finished.

Today I mounted the sitting frame and I’m looking forward to finishing the boat. But I think it will still take a few months because I am constructing this part time, along with my work as occupational advisor.

Hans Schipper
Hilversum
The Netherlands

We first posted about the Ninja Spider Trimaran here. The whole concept seemed fresh. And it equally appears to be a wonderful sailboat.

It appears, however, that SMG Multihull, the company that designed and fabricated these “trimarans in a box” won’t be building or offering them for sale anymore.

Early this morning, our friend Stefano Moretti commented on that page that he’d found a YouTube video indicating that the molds for this boat, along with the rights to produce and market it, are now for sale. I then checked YouTube and found the video.

I was rooting for the commercial success of this boat. (To say it’s a tough economy out there, for many product sellers, is an understatement!) Having said that, perhaps someone else will pick up the torch for this one. I am with Stefano on that sentiment. (Thanks for letting us know about this Stefano).

Here is the Ninja trimaran video our friend referred to in his comment:

Here are a couple of real treats, courtesy of multihull pioneer Jim Brown. Jim and I spoke last week about an article that I found online comparing small trimarans with catamarans in the same size range.

Our conversation isn’t meant to stir any pots of controversy … it’s simply about adding to a particular discussion by having a chat with someone who has been building and sailing multihulls for 50+ years now.

As a bonus to our conversation, I’ve linked to the essay Jim mentions in our short talk. It’s entitled, “CAT CRAZY, TRI FI,” which will make sense to you after listening to my interview with Jim.

May you enjoy both of these multihull media treats from Jim in this post :-)

Click here to listen to (or download) my audio conversation with Jim. (If you want to download it then right-click and choose “Save”).

Click on the following image to download Jim Brown’s essay entitled, CAT CRAZY, TRI FI…

Jim Brown’s essay – CAT CRAZY, TRI FI

There were a whole bunch of small trimarans at the 2014 Everglades Challenge. Thanks to Paul White (who sails a Weta trimaran in Sydney, AUS), for sending me the following links :-)

Paul also let me know that Randy Smyth won his class in this year’s Everglades Challenge (Class 5, Single Male, Cats/Tris) in a new record time (1 day, 11 hours, 18 minutes) in his self-designed, self-built trimaran SIZZOR. You can find out more about SIZZOR here and here.

A couple guys have said Randy included a new feature on the boat for this race … a simple, auto-pilot steering system that enabled him to sleep while sailing. I remember Jim Brown’s reaction after finishing with his interview with Randy a couple years ago; as soon as Randy concluded his remarks, all Jim could say was, “Wow!”

Also, a quick congrats to Mike Barnett…
Mike successfully soloed Clarity, his 40+ year old Sailbird trimaran, to completion in this years EC. Mike wrote to me and said, “She was a great boat for the Challenge, and with this years’ modifications, stone cold reliable. The only damage taken was a torn out reef cringle jibing off of Cape Sable. What a 300 mile rush!
Regards, Mike B. You can read more about Mike and his trimaran here.

Here is a YouTube video entitled, “Everglades Challenge 2014 Beach Walk”, posted by a visitor at this year’s EC:

Here is how one fellow is utilizing a kite sail in a very practical way. (This is another great link that comes to us from Ian McGehee, by the way).

Instead of using lines, as most kite sails do, this approach uses sticks. The sticks solve a number of problems associated with soft control lines. It’s pretty neat.

The following pictures are linked to directly from their hosting server, where the author, Peter Lynn, has published them. For the full story on this particular kite sail concept, visit his webpage at http://www.peterlynnhimself.com/newsletter/March_Nl_10.html There are more pictures on that page too.

Peter talks about the application of a kite to both monohulls and multihulls. If you’ve ever thought about kite sailing or kite surfing then you’ll enjoy reading his piece. It’s obvious he has given this concept a lot of thought and attention!

And thanks, Ian, for sharing the link :-)

Multihull designer and marine engineer John Marples’s instructional audio package, entitled “Knowing Your Multihull,” was published a couple years ago. It’s great content, especially for those who are unfamiliar with the structural differences between monohulls and multihulls. But John also provides a wealth of information on boat maintenance and care, which is something many guys don’t pay enough attention to.

For those who prefer reading to listening, the information John shares in the audios is now available on Amazon as a Kindle ebook. The audios were transcribed and then edited in easy-reading, narrative style.

Plans are in the works for a paperback version too … but that likely won’t be until a couple months from now.

Most of the information John discusses applies to small boats and cruisers alike. But there is one particular chapter, where John talks about trailering, that applies specifically to the boats we love talking about here at smalltrimarans. The gist of the matter is that trailering may be the easiest way to damage a boat, if not done correctly.

To find out all about the complete content in “Knowing Your Multihull,” you can get complete information here.

Multihull pioneer Jim Brown’s classic “Case for the Cruising Trimaran” is obviously about cruising vessels. But the full range of multihull-related information and advice contained within it … especially with regards to safety … is so rich that every multihull owner might benefit from reading it.

A mindset that inspires one towards safety, precaution, accident prevention and preparation (about supplies one should have before going out in a boat) is displayed throughout the book. But what is so great about Jim’s writing style is that it never comes across as abrasive. The great advice simply comes to life through real-life stories and personal accounts of events that sailors actually experienced in their boats.

The print version was re-published about 3 years ago. And it’s now also available at Amazon as a Kindle ebook.

Jim’s book is stirring, thought-provoking and practical. And for those of us who love small trimarans, there is a chapter on the topic of “capsize recovery” that may be of special interest. Here is a description of that section that is written at Amazon:

“Much of the book is dedicated to the subject of “capsizing,” and offers timeless wisdom on how it can be prevented. There is even a chapter about “self-rescue,” and techniques for how a small, capsized vessel can be self-righted. For bigger multihulls that have overturned, Jim offers timeless advice on the best approaches for recovery in order to repair it.”

It was a privilege for me to bring the re-print version of this classic multihull book back to life. But the Kindle version was long overdue.

Click here to read all about the information contained “Case for the Cruising Trimaran” if you’ve never heard about it before.

Jim Brown has just published an essay entitled, “Building for Longevity.” You can download it here (in pdf format).

Lots of sage advice and wisdom here. As you read Jim’s essay, it’s apparent that his zeal and enthusiasm for building boats hasn’t diminished at all. If anything, he may be a bigger fan of self-building these days, simply because he is a frugal guy. And in this economy, a frugal, money-saving approach may be just how many individuals eventually acquire their own boats.

Having said that, there are obviously right and wrong ways to do things. Jim offers this written piece as a help to novice boatbuilders who want to build a boat using wood & epoxy that will last for many years — a lifetime, in fact.

Click here to download Jim Brown’s newest addendum, entitled, “Building for Longevity,” which will be added into the PDF version of his classic, Searunner Construction Manual.

Sailor Karl Williams provides some great info and photos about his (Dick Newick designed) Outrigger 26 trimaran in this post. The Outrigger 26 model was originally called the Somersault 26 (probably not the best name for a multihull). But other sailors of this model have affirmed it’s very Newick-esque in both appearance and performance.

Karl talks about his background with boats and how he came to own an Outrigger 26. The specs for this trimaran have also been posted on his CraigsList page (as this craft is for sale at the time of this post; you can check out that page for even more pictures as long as it stays up).

A short article about the Somersault/Outrigger model can also be found at http://councill.home.mindspring.com/sbjournal/tri/tri4.html

Be sure to click on the pics for full views. And thanks to Karl for sharing this with us! Be sure to contact him if you’re interested in this boat.

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The “MiniMoxie” OutRigger 26 Trimaran
by Karl Williams

I grew up from the age of 6 on the shores of Cayuga Lake, in central New York’s Finger lakes region. My family always had a power boat for fishing and water sports. But they were day boats. I have a little more adventure in my blood, so when it was time for me to think about a boat for me, I wanted something with sleeping accommodations.

Sailing intrigued me, I had been on Sunfish boats before but never really sailed. My friend had a 22-foot swing keel Venture monohull with motor and trailer that he decided to sell. We made a sales agreement over the phone. The boat was on Lake George, about a 5-hour drive from where I lived. I made the trip to go sailing for a couple days, then trailered it home after two weeks.

I went to the used book store and bought a copy of Everett Pierson’s “the Lure of Sailing”. By the time I got on board for our three day sailing weekend, I knew more about sailing than the owner did who had owned the boat for many years.

I sailed and experimented and added a spinnaker and had a good time for several years. Then I found a 24-foot monohull and traded up. During this time, I subscribed to “Multihulls” magazine and started drifting to the catamaran style, mostly for the accommodations that they offered.

My brother in law bought a Hobie-cat 16, so I learned how to sail, capsize and right these crafts. Also during this period, I began sailing Windsurfers and racing them, plus hard sailing on iceboats in the winter time. Great fun all … and much faster that the old monohulls. After a time, I was working for a high-tech startup company and stock options became viable, which gave me the seed money to buy my own multihull.

By this time, I lived on Cayuga Lake, and built a house on the property I grew up on. This created some constraints. My boat had to either be stored on a boat lift, or moored out front of the house. So a cabin style catamaran was out of the question.

I started to look at trimarans. My friend had a Farrier/Corsair 27, which was way too much money. But there were alternatives to them. After much web and classified searching, I found an obscure ad in a Hickory, North Carolina classified, describing a trimaran on a trailer, with accessories. So I called.

The story goes like this …

The first owner bought the Outrigger 26 from the builder in 1991. They bought the custom-built trailer to carry the de-mounted components of the tri and also designed to assist in assembly. I was told they owned it for five years and sailed it on the Great lakes and also one or more trips to the Bahamas. Then put it up for sale.

The second owner bought it in 1996 and brought it to Lake Norman in North Carolina. He owned a marina, and so, had free dockage. He also purchased a new racing Jib and Mainsail from Calvert sails of Florida.

What happened over the next nine years we don’t know, for sure.

In May of 2005, I found myself inspecting the boat. They had power washed the bottom grime off and got it disassembled and on the trailer, and moved to a new location. But the evidence left behind suggests that once the newness wore off, the boat sat for many years without use.

The Calvert mainsail was left on the boom. The sail cover started to rot, so was not protecting the sail as it should have been, so some deterioration to the main was evident. Mud dauber wasps left many a nest, and with the red North Carolina clay, that was a challenge. Dust and spider webs abounded. The boat was far from “sailable,” as the advertisement had indicated.

The intermediary new owner was in the construction business and had performed a lot of work for the marina owner, incurring a large liability for his services. The marina owner died in a vehicular accident and his widow did not have sufficient cash to justify repayment. So she signed over several boats to the construction company owner. So he was the person selling the trimaran.

The trampolines were usable but not for long. The decorative pinstripe tape was shot and the bottom paint will need refreshing. There was no outboard motor or wooden motor mount. The polycarbonate side windows were frosted white from age, and had delaminated from the hull and was held on by just three screws.

My thorough inspection, however, revealed a sound boat. There were no damaged structures and the rigging, both running and standing, was in good order. Other than the Calvert Mainsail, there was the original Bierig Dacron mainsail in good condition, and the Calvert jib was still good.

The asking price was significantly downgraded and a deal was made. I had a hell of a project. But at that point, I didn’t think I could get it in the water at all that year. A couple of days later I was home and my wife said, “You paid how much for that?”

The process of restoration was started.

New side port lights were purchased and fabricated, now held down with 29 SS fasteners. Captn. Eddy, in St Catherine, Canada had restored hull number one and had a yahoo groups forum going at the time. He told me he had sold his Somersault/Outrigger to a guy in Florida and the new owner built an aluminum motor mount to replace the foam and glass one he had built. So I contacted the new owner and he was willing to donate the foam and glass mount to my project. Then I found a used 6 HP Evinrude long shaft for sale.

The pieces of the puzzle were rapidly falling together. As there was no name on the boat I started thinking of an appropriate name. I had just finished the book “Moxie, the American Challenge”, and Austin Powers had introduce Mini-Me in the movies, so I found MINI MOXIE to do her proud.

I had to come up with a way to raise the mast. My local launch ramp is Long Point State park and there is no crane on site means to raise it. So first, I constructed a bolt-on means to convert the rotating mast base into a tabernacle. There is already a U-bolt through the deck, just aft of the mast base, so that works as part of a hinge mechanism for the tabernacle.

Next, I had an old dingy boom that is about nine foot long. This makes an ideal Gin pole. The mast saddle, while on the deck, has a roller. So the process goes like this: First, of course, assemble the AKAS and AMAS. (Shrouds go to the AMAS). Roll the mast aft until a pin can be inserted into the tabernacle / u-bolt hinge. Then attach one of the halyards to the top of the gin pole, then trailer winch cable to the top of gin pole. Strap the gin pole to the mast. Have a helper hold the pole. I have constructed two bridals to attach to deck cleats on each AMA. (One halyard per side.) Adjust bridals and halyard so the ends of the halyard line up with the pivot point of the tabernacle. Okay, hoist away on the winch, making sure the halyards do not tangle on anything. Once the mast is vertical, bring the forestay in position and attach it to the bow tang. Remove the gin pole and adjust standing rigging. Now all that is left it to lace on the trampolines and motor mount. Put on the boom, sails and sail away.

We launched the first week of July in 2005. Bottom paint, new trampolines, sail cover and other things would have to wait.

My friend with the F-27, TAKING OFF, wanted me to go to the Youngstown Yacht club the end of July to enter the LYRA races on lake Ontario. An invitation revealed that one of the F-boat captains lived in a condo next to the yacht club. He had water front, and it was too shallow for keelboats. So we could stay on the boat and utilize his hospitality and condo for base operations for the trimaran fleet. A State park with a boat launch just up the road. Perfect. Even though I knew I was far from race ready (didn’t even have a spinnaker yet) a party was to be had.

So just two weeks in the water and back on the trailer she went for a ride up to the Niagara River. On the day of the races, there were light to moderate winds, maybe topping out below 20 MPH, and low wave height.

I had crewed a couple times on a keel boat for races and had raced my windsurfers a fair bit, so at least at the start, I knew what had to be done. Me and Mini Moxie were the wild card.

Most of the other boats were F-boats and had sailed against each other. They had only read about the Outrigger. They didn’t know what to expect from her.

I pulled off a most respectable start and was pulling side by side with the eventual winner (and our condo host). As Mini Moxie was rigged, she didn’t point quite as high as the F-boat to my side, but she made up for that by her acceleration and speed in those conditions. MINI MOXIE weighs just 1500 pounds and that is a huge advantage, compared to the F-boats.

When we rounded the windward mark and started heading downwind, I waved Bye-Bye to the leader. After a few more rounds, my wife got bored and fell asleep. And, as I was not competitive on the all important down wind, leg, I said forget it. I turned north and headed to Toronto, about 40 miles away. A little over 2 hours later we were in Canadian waters and sightseeing the Toronto skyline.

What a magical ride that was. A fantastic introduction for what I really wanted MINI MOXIE for — FAST Cruising. I never did race her again. We returned to Youngstown by early sunset for the party at the yacht club.

My impressions of the boat: light, fantastic acceleration, fast. Handles waves with aplomb, if not a little wet from spray. Easy to sail? Yes. I sailed regularly solo, from a mooring and back onto it. Spins circles like a power boat.

With a crew, I would fly the spinnaker without a pole. Two sheets led to blocks on the AMA bows. And with the snuffer, that was easy to launch and retrieve. I also have a rather large drifter that I inherited. That is only used in very light winds, and makes starting the motor not necessary.

Under power, she easily reaches 10 MPH. Under sail, you can easily double that. We rarely used the engine when on Cayuga lake, as she moves so easily that we would still be sailing when all other sailors had given up.

What does the crew think? They argue over how many can ride out on the AMA, standing up, hanging onto the shroud. Yes, I have to agree, that it the best place to ride. When we were not sailing it was a natural swim dock for everyone.

Every boat design is a compromise. Of course, if I designed my own boat it probably would be much different than the Outrigger. But as she stands and what she was designed for, there is little I would want different … mostly running rigging, I think.

Karl M. Williams
USCG Captain
50 tons power/sail

1991 Outrigger 26′ Trimaran Sailboat Specs:

Outrigger/Somersault 26 Trimaran
1991 Hull #11 of 13 26 FT long, 21 FT beam
Very fast, light weight, demountable Trimaran, and a lovely Dick Newick design too.
Dagger-board style with foam crush-box at the rear of the slot
Folding rudder, transom hung
Original custom Trimaran specific assembly trailer, galvanized, set up to carry the dagger-board and motor on trailer
32 foot rotating mast with provisions for rotation control and self-raising on the trailer.
Diamond stays on mast with two Barient winches for sail tensions
Aluminum boom with provisions for three reefing points.
Lazy jacks to control sail raising and lowering
Stainless Steel bow pulpit
Electrical distribution/fuse panel

This boat is in very original condition, including insulated cabin with vinyl upholstery covering
Original cushions with no tears and lightly used.
Designed to sleep three people
Hand laid-up s-glass/carbon/epoxy/foam construction materials
Two original top load storage duffel bags used on both sides of the cabin toward the stern
Eight original custom designed storage bags attached to both sides of the cabin.
Hard lockable cabin hatch, and soft cabin hatch with zip up cover and insect screen
Calvert brand fathead mainsail with two reef points
Calvert brand jib on Harken roller furling
Bierig brand mainsail with three reef points
Symmetrical spinnaker, (no pole), free flying with lines to amas.
Giant drifter
New Trampolines
New red sail cover with matching fuel tank cover, and tiller cover.
All deck hardware Harken brand
Lewmar deck hatch, with elastic insect screen
Navigation and interior lighting with red illumination option.
Salon settee bench with storage under and folding table
Companionway step doubles with storage under for small stove or whatever.
Bow and stern storage areas
Side mounted auxiliary power with 6 horsepower Evinrude long-shaft outboard.
New fuel tank.
VHF radio with mast mounted antenna
Manual bilge pump and boarding ladder.
Two standard dock bumpers and two low profile dock bumpers
Spring lines.
Fresh bottom paint

Delivery possible

Hull Type: Trimaran. Rig Type: Frac. Sloop (Rotating Spar)
LOA: 26.00′ / 7.92m LWL: 25.00′ / 7.62m
Beam: 21.00′ / 6.40m Listed SA: 365 ft2 / 33.91 m2
Draft (max.) 4.50′ / 1.37m Draft (min.) 1.08′ / 0.33m
Disp. 1500 lbs./ 680 kgs. Ballast: None
SA/Disp.: 44.66 Bal./Disp.: Disp./Len.: 42.86
Designer: Dick Newick
Builder: Outrigger Boat Co. (USA)
Construct.: FG Bal. type:
First Built: 1987 Last Built: 1991 # Built: 13
DESIGNER
More about & boats designed by: Dick Newick

NOTES
Beam with floats removed (on trailer)7.75′
Later, known as the OUTRIGGER 26.

Sailor Ernie Maude had a big question about his trimaran. In this post, he shares the story and pictures (and short video) about his self-built tri WILL IT WON’T IT. It’s a good ole’ DIY yarn too.

As you’ll see, Ernie pushed past small issues (such as the front end of his boat breaking off). And he is always thinking about how to improve the boat. He plans a few more changes this year in order to squeeze out as much performance as he can from this small tri.

Thanks for taking a moment to share about your sailboat with us Ernie!

……………

WILL IT WON’T IT
by Ernie Maude

The boat as it is now is not how it originally started out, which was as a sailing kayak due to my having been given an old, one man kayak. I then made two small outriggers and beams to attach to the kayak. After speaking to my partner who expressed an interest in sailing with me, however, I began looking out for a two man kayak to convert.

I had no success in finding a suitable craft, and having already downloaded a free software program named Hullform, I decided the way forward was to design the centre hull myself. I built this centre hull in three sections to enable me to transport the boat in the back of my Toyota van. Each section dovetailed together to hold them in place while I bolted them.

The mast was bought on eBay from a windsurfer to which I fastened a caravan awning track for the luff groove. This was paired with an old catamaran mainsail, which I already had. I also bought a jib off eBay. I made a kick up rudder, copied from a tornado catamaran which I had previously owned too.

All my previous experience has been in sailing beach catamarans, which I had either designed and made or bought and refurbished. Building this trimaran has been a completely new experience for me, as I had never sailed or even seen this type of small craft, except on the Internet, as they are not very popular in the United Kingdom at this time.

Now was the time for the first sail and to name the boat. After much consideration I decided on the name “Will it Won’t it,” which was the question uppermost in my mind.

The initial sail was quite successful, and the speeds we achieved were very good for the light winds on the day. Two issues I was not entirely happy with:

• I did not like sitting in the hull facing forward, as I was more used to leaning out or trapezing on catamarans
• I thought the boat could have a lot more speed potential (thus, I felt a re-design coming on)

At this time I met up with an old friend, Bryan Tilke, who had recently moved back into the area and had previously sailed from the North Devon Yacht club. He showed a keen interest in teaming up to sail the boat, as he also was a speed freak that had only sailed on catamarans before. Bryan and I make a good team, and he has worked with me on the fine tuning of the boat.

I then designed and built larger outriggers and strengthened the beams. I also replaced the original 15-foot mast with a 20-foot mast and new sails … also bought from eBay. I also fitted trampolines between the decks.

I was extremely pleased with the result of this re-design, as the boat was much faster than before and I was much happier sailing while sitting on the outrigger. One problem this larger rig presented was that it shipped a lot of water from the spray, which necessitated the fixing of self-bailers, which cured the problem.

My one concern was whether the bow section would stand up to the larger rig. And as you can see from one of the photographs, it didn’t! The bow section broke off when we tacked to avoid the local marines who were out on maneuvers. But luckily for us, the marines did kindly tow us back to shore. When I arrived back home and told my partner Christine that we had been rescued by the marines, she was upset that she had not sailed with me that day.

Fortunately, when the bow broke off it did no damage to the outer skin and, therefore, this was quite an easy repair by fixing stringers between the tabernacle and the centre board case and then fibre glassing the inside and outside of the hull using epoxy resin.

The next time we sailed was in a race and, fortunately, another small trimaran was competing — a Magnum 21 — which, I am proud to say, in a force 4, we were probably about 20% faster.

Although I am very happy with the way my boat sailed last year, I still see it as an ongoing project and feel there is more performance to be had. Therefore I am now working on the alterations for the 2014 season. Firstly, I have been given a 23-foot mast, which I will use along with yet another larger sail bought off eBay. Then an asymmetric spinnaker is a looming possibility, along with a trapeze.

Boat Specifications:
LOA – 16ft
Beam – 11ft 8inch
Mast – 20ft
Hull and outriggers made from exterior plywood sheathed with glass fibre and epoxy with taped seams.

YouTube Video Clip of WILL IT WON’T IT Sailing…

The Wa’apa is an outrigger sailing canoe designed by Gary Dierking. It can be set up as either a single outrigger proa or double outrigger trimaran.

Every time I see pictures or video clips of Gary’s boats, the words “elegant simplicity” come to mind. Just take a look at how Jon Berger, the builder / sailor of the boats featured in the YouTube videos below, built his boats.

They are simple. Straightforward. Economical. Very little, if any, expensive hardware or fittings. As Gary once said to me, “they offer a big bang for the buck.”

I think these vids display the wonderful simplicity of this design very well (with some family fun mixed in). If you only watch one of them then check out the first one and see what I mean.

Ian McGehee recently sent an to to me that he found on Craigslist advertising a “Yamaha Waterspyder.” The Waterspyder is a windsurfer trimaran.

I emailed the owner / seller, Ken C., and asked him for permission to post about it using the information in his ad. Ken kindly said, “Yes.” (Ken’s original post on Craigslist has since expired, and we invite him to post his contact info below in the comments area so that anyone interested in this craft can contact him directly).

Not many Waterspyders were produced. They were a commercial failure. But I’d certainly like to see one being sailed in the way it was originally designed to be used.

Ian also found a video posted on YouTube featuring a Waterspyder that has been converted into a small sit-down sailboat (with wider akas). The video down at the bottom, below the pics.

Thank you Ian for sharing these links with us … and thank you Ken, for giving us permission to publish your pictures and info!

Here is Ken’s information as it appeared on Craigslist…

Windsurfer made by Yamaha and designed by Jim Drake never used – $1900 (Palos Verdes)

Jim Drake, a designer of the windsurfer in 1967, has developed a cruising version of the sailboard. But instead of one hull, his new craft has three, a configuration that makes capsizing less likely. The spindly craft has two compartments in the hull for stowing gear like a tent, sleeping bag, food and water, goods that might be needed for long-distance trips.

The 14-foot center hull has adjoining outriggers, which add stability. The outside pontoons, called amas, are connected with aluminum tubing. The amas come apart so you can carry the WaterSpyder on a car. The WaterSpyder is made of fiberglass and Kevlar, a Du Pont fiber. The WaterSpyder retailed for about $2,600 in 1989 without masts, booms and sail. This windsurfer was never in the water and just out of the box to take a picture.

Here is the video of the converted Waterspyder…

Sailor Karl Williams shared about his Outrigger 26 trimaran in a previous post. But he also shared a trimaran-related story with me that I didn’t include in that write up. I thought you’d enjoy this story separately.

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Canadian Night Sail on an F-boat
by Karl Williams

I have hundreds of great days on the water. And probably more boat stories than that to tell. But since this forum is about small tris, I’ll tell one about a great “Night sail” on a trimaran, instead.

My friend Greg owned an F-boat named “TakinOff.” He wanted to race the Ontario 300, a long distance race, and invited me along as crew. He had already moved the boat to Sodus Bay, New York — that years starting place. The starting place, and therefore courses, are different every year.

All I had to do was show up and load my duffel bag. Our course would take us northeast to round a navigation buoy, then east around Duck Island, then back to the finish at Sodus.

I have cruised this area many times over the years, so navigation would be a cinch. The start was late in the afternoon, giving daylight to avoid crashes at the beginning of the race.

We got off with fabulous moderate winds and weather. We were right up front with the largest and fastest monohulls and a couple multihulls. Daylight turned into sunset, then twilight, then dark. There was a large moon, so seeing the other boats was easy.

After we covered about 60 miles, however, and were in Canadian waters, heading for the mark, and ominous black mass started to fill the northern horizon. It was low at first, then growing tall, eventually took over the moon.

We made our rounding of the mark and started the east course for Main Duck. Many more miles were clicking off under our hulls.

We were wary and kept an eye over our shoulders to monitor the weather to the north. Nothing. Just ominous black, with little telltale of anything, YET.

Then, BANG, the first squall line hit … REALLY hard!! It shredded the Kevlar carbon jib, like instantly. We yanked the main sail down FAST!

The waves started building quickly. Wind was coming in from the northwest and didn’t appear to be moderating. I could guess the wind was probably in the thirty mile an hour range with gusts. We talked a few minutes and said, “To heck with it.” The race was over for us.

We started the motor and headed south. The waves were building BIG, and we were beam to the seas. Not a good idea.

I suggested we make for Oswego. This is a much more industrial harbor compared to Sodus Bay anyway, which would allow entering in crappy weather much easier.

Oswego is about 40 miles east of Sodus. My dead reckoning made us likely to be about 40 miles to the NW of Oswego. So that course put the waves directly astern, with growing waves. At one point in the night, we estimated the waves were between 15 and 20 feet high. That was not an unusual thing for Ontario.

Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, we tied up the commercial quay, just downstream from the NY barge canal lock in Oswego harbor, by ourselves. After a few hour sleep, we aroused and got about, checking the boat. She seemed to be in fine shape, despite us having challenged its integrity the previous night.

We launched and motored around the harbor to a marina where we found a few other competitors tied up. They were telling us a bunch of horrific stories: Their stories included dismastings, broken bones, and boats severely damaged in general.

We bid “Adieu,” and headed out of the harbor. The lake was relatively calm, with light winds. We had to motor sail the 40 miles back to Sodus. Our epilogue: a good boat, good seamanship, and an adventure to tell the grandkids. :-)

Even though this post isn’t small tri related, Russell Brown’s wife Ashlyn (of ptwatercraft.com) asked if we’d like to help her and Russell help out the family of Dick Newick, the great multihull pioneer, who passed several months ago. Our part is to help spread word about a special sale for posters that belonged to Dick … and any sales will benefit his widow.

Ashlyn is handling all of the sales at the ptwatercraft site. If you click on the image below it will automatically take you to the information page there, where you can read all about the special offer being made on these prints.

Sailor Carlos Solanilla has been enjoying his Strike 16 trimaran in Florida waters. This boat is one of the Strike trimaran models designed by Richard Woods. Carlos has previously shared info and pictures on the building of his boat here and here.

The Prindle 15 beach cat hulls and Prindle 16 rig Carlos is using on his boat are bigger than what Mr. Woods intended. But you’ll see Carlos is still pleased with the final results of his build.

He sent me these photos the day after he was out on the water with his family and wrote, “I did not bring my GPS so I could not measure speed. However, even with a bad set up on the jib, as well as not being able to move the main sheet closer to the wind ( I need to think about installing a tract), the boat was flying with my wife, daughter, son, and I … around 490 lbs. all together.”

Congrats to Carlos on a successful build (and thanks for taking time to share with us :-)
All the best to him as he now enjoys the fruits of his labor.

…………….

A Few Pictures and Info About My Woods-Designed Strike 16 Trimaran
by Carlos Solanilla

I live in Miami, so for the most part, I am sailing either in the Biscayne Bay, Florida Keys, both in the ocean and bay side, west coast of Florida (Gulf of Mexico), and in the Everglades side of the coast (Chokolosky, etc.)

Set up time to launch is about 30 minutes. I use a permanent rig I use to raise and lower the mast. It’s at the bow of the boat — two aluminum poles forming a triangle.

Presently, I am using a ladder to rest the mast top. The blue lines you see in one of these pictures are used to stabilize the mast from swinging side to side.

The prindle mast has a small bracket, allowing me to raise the mast fairly easy. I use the winch on the trailer to winch the mast up and down.

The Prindle hulls are secured with four butterfly nuts. I am using a large mast for the boat (26 feet), but it works. Mr. Woods’ plans are very easy to follow and I it’s possible to build this boat in a side or backyard.

What do I like about this boat? I like having the ability to just buy a derelict Prindle catamaran, half buried in the beach, for next to nothing, then being able to just cut the amas in half and use all the equipment, including the rudder, for this new trimaran. Plus, I like having an extra rudder, just in case.

The ride on this boat is very, very dry. The main reason I built this trimaran was to take my wife out, as she does not like the wet ride of my proa, or the small catapulting catamaran I have.

The ride is fairly good. As with most trapezoidal designs, there is some slamming when the weather picks up and the waves get bigger and you are going upwind. On the plus side, the boat surfs very nicely. There is plenty of space for a weekend gear and provisions, and you could sleep inside of the boat if needed.

One thing I don’t like is that my jib setup is not optimal right now … probably more my fault than the boat’s. I also need to keep the weight aft, but it might be due to the length of the Prindle hulls. They should be about 6 inches farther back but I did not wanted to go thru the hassle of changing this. If anybody is considering this boat with the same Prindle set up then I would recommend moving the back attachment stations 6 inches and leave everything the same.

I also do not like having to carry a ladder to rest the mast. I need to figure out a light cradle that can be attached to the back of the boat so I can lower the mast while in the water, in case I need to lower the mast to past under a bridge or something (think everglades challenge).

The Prindle rudder tends to kick-up so I need a bungee to help keep it down. Also, I need to install some kind of sail track to move the main sheet attachment to port or starboard or windward and leeward. The current set up does not allow me to bring the boom close to the center of the boat. I’m also thinking about installing reefing lines to catch the sail when the wind is piping up and the boat gets overpowered.

I have an outboard cradle, but haven’t used it yet … I do not have to as just paddling is very easy.

I think the best days on this boat are when we can take a bunch of people on board and it still sails decently. I have 3 kids, so although a little bit cramped, we have sailed with 5 people with very decent speed.

Being a trailerable boat really opens up possibilities to explore all over Florida, on both coasts, and thru all the Florida key chains and the Everglades Park.

Of course, this boat shines as a two person weekender. The only drawback all the people asking about the boat, which can slow you down when setting up the boat at the ramp.