dsuursoo
09-02-2008, 03:30 AM
well, after the talk that got started in 'cats vs. tris' thread, i figured, hey, what kind of fun would it be to get everyone involved, in some way, with figuring out a 'best ideal' beach multihull.
i'm talking about a peewee boat, something you could make for the kids, or for yourself, for cheap, for fun, a real short-endurance boat, light, cheap, fair to excellent handling, stability, speed, and capacity. a boat that does a lot well, not just a few things excellenty.
not a boat you'd want to take on an adventure trip(though you could, if your balls clang while you walk about), but something you could easily take when you go camping as your get-around craft. i dunno about sleeping aboard, maybe if there's no suitable site onshore. but it can be done.
so, throwing out my thoughts:
i'm partial to a trimaran. really it's my bias, as they've always seemed more stable to me, and they are almost always faster. Cats have a lot of advantages though, so if it seems to be the better choice, i'm all for it. cats do have simplicity advantages that many trimarans lack.
construction technique: this should be something anyone can do. perhaps the same as surfboards. shaped foam, fiberglass skin. so solid hulls, no storage space in them. simple, sinkproof, lots of bouyancy just in case, and rather strong. this has solid pluses that just most other simple techniques lack. it can be done purely with hand tools if you lack a hot knife, and it's something a beginner can do. it's also fairly light. not as light as something hollow, per se, but still light enough for a small person to manhandle about.
size: overall, i don't think more than 20', and that's really at the outside. i'm more partial to about 16' for a beachboat, anything more gets to be a pain to get on top of the car.
collapsible: it MUST break down.
sailplan: i'm very open here, as everyone has their favorites. i've put together a few beach multihulls, ranging from two kayaks with a catboat set junk sail made from a tarp, to the rather crazy idea of somehow cramming three masts and triple foresails onto a 20-ish foot trimaran(as a note, you can get up and MOVE with a square rigged setup on a ultralight boat but you're going to be busy when you set sail even with a crew to help), and i'm partial to simplicity. i do note that a gunter has the advantage of letting you have a shorter mast, which is nice. but you can always square-sail it, like a viking boat... great for running dead downwind.
beyond that, i really can't think of much.
thoughts, anyone? feeling very open to ideas and opinions, and i'll see how it takes shape in CAD. once we're done, i think i'd be okay with releasing the drawings to the forum, kind of my contribution back.
i'm talking about a peewee boat, something you could make for the kids, or for yourself, for cheap, for fun, a real short-endurance boat, light, cheap, fair to excellent handling, stability, speed, and capacity. a boat that does a lot well, not just a few things excellenty.
not a boat you'd want to take on an adventure trip(though you could, if your balls clang while you walk about), but something you could easily take when you go camping as your get-around craft. i dunno about sleeping aboard, maybe if there's no suitable site onshore. but it can be done.
so, throwing out my thoughts:
i'm partial to a trimaran. really it's my bias, as they've always seemed more stable to me, and they are almost always faster. Cats have a lot of advantages though, so if it seems to be the better choice, i'm all for it. cats do have simplicity advantages that many trimarans lack.
construction technique: this should be something anyone can do. perhaps the same as surfboards. shaped foam, fiberglass skin. so solid hulls, no storage space in them. simple, sinkproof, lots of bouyancy just in case, and rather strong. this has solid pluses that just most other simple techniques lack. it can be done purely with hand tools if you lack a hot knife, and it's something a beginner can do. it's also fairly light. not as light as something hollow, per se, but still light enough for a small person to manhandle about.
size: overall, i don't think more than 20', and that's really at the outside. i'm more partial to about 16' for a beachboat, anything more gets to be a pain to get on top of the car.
collapsible: it MUST break down.
sailplan: i'm very open here, as everyone has their favorites. i've put together a few beach multihulls, ranging from two kayaks with a catboat set junk sail made from a tarp, to the rather crazy idea of somehow cramming three masts and triple foresails onto a 20-ish foot trimaran(as a note, you can get up and MOVE with a square rigged setup on a ultralight boat but you're going to be busy when you set sail even with a crew to help), and i'm partial to simplicity. i do note that a gunter has the advantage of letting you have a shorter mast, which is nice. but you can always square-sail it, like a viking boat... great for running dead downwind.
beyond that, i really can't think of much.
thoughts, anyone? feeling very open to ideas and opinions, and i'll see how it takes shape in CAD. once we're done, i think i'd be okay with releasing the drawings to the forum, kind of my contribution back.