Expandacraft Trimaran

[Clipper2]

Project 16' Trimaran using Expandacraft parts. It should be sailing by next friday, with 75 sqft of sail including jib. Tramp much tighter with rope border, zipties were temp.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

[Clipper2]

i'm having trouble posting images from picasa....?

[messabout]

Looks like a modular scheme. Maybe rotomolded parts. Clever, simple, inevitable that someone would come up with this method.

Seventy five feet of sail is not much for a boat of this size and configuration. The picture makes the boat appear more than 16 feet LOA.

[keysdisease]

Whats the board and rudder arrangement? What kind of rig?

Cool concept, I like roto molded small boats, light and near indestructible.

Steve

[Doug Lord]

Originally Posted by Clipper2

Project 16' Trimaran using Expandacraft parts. It should be sailing by next friday, with 75 sqft of sail including jib. Tramp much tighter with rope border, zipties were temp.

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I looked at your site yesterday-and maybe I missed it-but I couldn't find any technical info like dimensions and weight? About how much does the tri weigh? And cost of the modular components?
Looks good....

[Squidly-Diddly]

but on the '40 foot container, largest trailer-able' size format.

I was going to include straight middle expansion units like yours as well.

Do you have data on your connection scheme? I see what look like 1" pipes and raised runners. Wouldn't the 1" pipes holding the sections together be the place to also attach a means to connect the hulls, instead of what looks like brackets just drilled into the hulls?

Make the 1" diameter(if that is what it is) pipes fit inside Schedule 200 PVC pipe and go from there. Have it "Tee" off both front and back protruding sections of pipe and lay directly on the raised rudders to prevent the hulls from flopping.

How about mounting kayak style rudders?

[Clipper2]

The white risers fit into a 1/2 in. square resess already in the product, with a spacer running through a 2" hole also already in the product and tightened with a stainless rod and bolts on the ends. Various connection points are possible and are in the works.

More pictures to better explain are coming, Thanks for the ideas!

[Expandacraft]

Nice use of my Expandacraft parts Clipper2. To answer Doug Lords question, the center sections are 11 lbs, bow/stern is 7.5 lbs and they retail for $100.00 each part. Each part is 4 ft long and the widest point on the hull is 10 inches but only about 6 or 8 at the waterline depending on load. A 12 ft set of hulls consists of 2 centers and 4 bow/sterns which is enough to handle a 230 lb paddler. Working on getting more technical data on the website ( www.expandacraft.com ) in the next few weeks. However, if you have any specific questions, I'll be more than happy to answer them promptly.

[keysdisease]

BTW, pretty neat from Ruskin, Tomato Capital, Port Manatee, Sea Force IX next door, interesting neighborhood.

Steve

[Expandacraft]

Well Keysdisease,
I do sell components so tinkerers like Clipper2 can build whatever is in their head but I also sell whole boats. Clipper2s trimaran is interesting and if his design or any others look and perform well enough, I'll look into producing a ready made version. Clipper2 could also chose to buy my components, build a boat and sell it for a profit if he can come up with a marketable craft. I'd like to experiment with a 20 ft center hull and 12 ft amas which both fly while there is good pressure in the sails. That would leave only the 20 ft long x 10 inch wide hull in the water which you could sail like a Moth with a foil.

[Doug Lord]

Originally Posted by Expandacraft

Well Keysdisease,
I do sell components so tinkerers like Clipper2 can build whatever is in their head but I also sell whole boats. Clipper2s trimaran is interesting and if his design or any others look and perform well enough, I'll look into producing a ready made version. Clipper2 could also chose to buy my components, build a boat and sell it for a profit if he can come up with a marketable craft. I'd like to experiment with a 20 ft center hull and 12 ft amas which both fly while there is good pressure in the sails. That would leave only the 20 ft long x 10 inch wide hull in the water which you could sail like a Moth with a foil.

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Now you're talking!

[BPL]

Easy to haul and inexpensive I presume. Neat.

[Expandacraft]

BPL,
Yep, I put a 16 ft catamaran sailboat in a Ford Focus this week. Plan to offer a one seater 12 ft sailing cat for under $2000 and it will fit in a Prius.

[Clipper2]

[BPL]

Only one thing I question:
On the vertical supports, would a diagonal be prudent?