41ft AA Trimaran

Greetings to all'
I have the opportunity to acquire a 41 ft Piver AA ketch rig that is in pretty good shape. It has a 50hp Pathfinder diesal and I know it burns a bit of oil so I will have to address that. The hulls are sound.
Does anyone own a 41 AA? Also can anyone give me an idea of how it sails? There is no daggerboard, centerboard or keel; just the fins on the Amas. Any feedback is appreciated. I have a Cross 28 that is in great shape that sails very well and I have to really think about this. A bigger boat means more expense i know but it also means more room!

Thanks,
Kelly.

 

The question is , what do you want to do with the boat? If you live aboard you should go for it, if you day sail chances are the cross is faster to windward etc...The AA stands for advanced amateur construction, good for 20% more payload than he standard designs according to the Piver Crew. He was quick to point out that the less you carry the better the boat sails.
The main hull has a huge rocker which means top speeds will be limited and payload should be kept amidships but you should still surprise fellow cruisers off wind. I checked out a Piver spinoff called a Nottingham , they had a dagger board trunk for windward work and the floor space to make it a natural partition for the head.
I suspect the diesel is for windward work but with a folding prop and a board you shouldn't need it. The main considerations are moorage costs etc...If you use good latex semi gloss house paint (gasp) and keep the membrane in good shape it should be a affordable self propelled cruising home. One Piver owner I saw used a laser for daysailing thrills. Modern tris have shifted to the sport boat mart but really , you could have affordable room and fun with this boat racing the condo cats. At the anchorage you would have the edge.....

 

Cavalier Mk2;
I do plan to live on it since is it pretty roomy inside. First thing I will do is unload everything thing off and take stock of what I want to discard or store elsewhere. I know the guy that owns it and the previous owner. We all sailed out and about with our boats in a fleet They all tell me my Cross is a little "rocket". Ideally I will keep the Cross for awhile and then think of selling it. It will be hard to let it go 'cause i really like it and it is easy to sail and the outboard motor moves it along nicely if needed.
The 41AA has the diesal and that is a bit scary for me. I have had 2 twin engine power boats and looking at engines now just make me want to RUN! Guess i like simple.

 

You could always convert to twin Yamaha 9.9 workboat out boards. I was advised by Jim Brown in a similar situation to stay with the big diesel. Latitude 38 did a neat idiots guide within the last 2 years so check it out. Max props got a good review by big tri owners, something that feathers/folds is essential. I heard of one Cross that always had its motor going and they lost the boat when it wouldn't work so auxiliaries should be used as such.Used as intended it might last long enough to scrape up the change to rebuild/replace if it isn't an injector timing issue. Above all be sure the boat is sound as a Piver won't resell for enough to compensate rebuilding efforts. Be thorough and brutal before you buy, afterwords you're chalking the effort up to experience! The AA series has nicer lines than the first boats so should sail better, remembering that any multihull needs a clean bottom like a plane needs de-icing and not to be overloaded in order to "fly". An off center board might fit into the interior easier if needed.

 

I am toying with the Idea of putting in a centerboard case in the starboard settee like I have in my Cross. I guess i would have to do a haul out to do this right? Has anyone put in a centerboard in the main cabin?

 

Well I done went and did it!
I closed the deal on the 41AA. Went over and went through the boat and ran the engine. Engine sounds pretty good and not as big a monster as I thought. There are a few things that need attending to but the boat is sailiable right now. It is HUGE inside!!! I will try and post some pictures later.

Kelldog.

 

Kelldog, here is the link to the Mariner's Museum. They have most of Arthur's drawings, and they will research and make copies for a reasonable fee.
http://www.mariner.org/library/plans-drawings
Norman Cross used to design fin keels for Piver trimarans to improve their performance. I don't know if he ever did one for the AA41.
In any case, congratulations, and I hope you have a ball.

 

Great fun! Don't fill that space up, use it for elbow room. Someone on this site used boards in the amas like a Horstman on a Cross with good results. On a Piver the beams tend to be horizontal rather than vertical so I don't know if that is your best move. A center or dagger board trunk can be constructed with the boat in the water but you need to hall out to pierce the skin so you can use glass/vecta etc... with epoxy so the slot maintains the membrane integrity. As you practice sailing your new boat (with a clean bottom) see if sailing a little more free makes up for the lee way. On my Nicol the speed difference is enough to put me ahead of similar sized boats. I use off centerline boards in all my small craft with no apparent difference between tacks and will go that route on my big boat eventually. Have fun sailing and remember to compare performance on accommodation space/ cost.

 

DarthCluin;
Thanks for the link. I bought a set of plans for the 30ft Nimble a few years ago when I had that Trimaran. I will have to get the plans for the 41. My Nimble had the cross keel. It was a happy thing!

Cavalier mk2;
Yeah I figure to build centerboard case first. A haul out may be a year away roughly so will sail it like it is for a while to get the feel of the wheel I don't mind bearing off a little while sailing over to Catalina...that what tacks are
for
I have no intention of loading this boat up. Gonna try and take as much stuff off I can. some clothes, toiletries, food, beer...(ok..maybe lots of beer ! ) I ahve spent 3 nights on it and it seems so cavernous inside. At least 6+ headroom in cabin. This is gonna be fun.

Apparently this boat; Star Trek has a history. Won the transpac overall years ago. Won a couple of Newport to Ensenada races as well so i guess it can move pretty good under the right conditions. We shall see

best to all...
Kelly.