Alternative to marvelous Buccaneer 24

I have a copy of Arthur Pivers book "Transatlantic Trimaran".
Indeed it was this book which lured me to "The Dark side".
I recently read it again ---after 40 years.
Arthur has been panned a great deal for his outrageous claims to the safety and performance of his designs, but he (and Wharram) gave an enormous boost to the spread of interest in multihull design, which has continued to the present day. No one can take that away from him.
Piver gave the credit for the modern resurgence of the trimaran to Victor Tchetchet, who indeed coined the present name for double outrigger boats.
In Pivers book on page 145 he said :-
"Many people in boating take themselves seriously, but the truth of the matter is that no one knows much about boat design, regardless of the many technical
terms he may reel off or the mountains of mathematical data he may produce."
"If a fraction of the money spent on, say, aviation research, were applied to the problems of the sailboat, it would become a science, but at the present moment it is actually an art".
I wonder if Piver would say the same today if he could see "Bank Populaire 5", or talk to Nigel Irens.

 

Possibly not, but, based on the kind of 'showman' and 'advertising guru' that Arthur clearly was (based on the reports of those who were there at the time, and I mean by that, people like Jim Brown who was one of, if not his earliest disciple), he'd probably be out there trying to score funding for a new project based on the 70kt's of B-P, but spieling HIS ability to increase that to 80kts, based on his own 'arcane' knowledge and 'special' understanding of the issues and problems of making tris go 'real fast'.

Having just put down Jim's 'Case for the Cruising Trimaran' (and I mean literally, as in finished it yesterday..) in which he is bluntly but (I hope) truthful about his former mentor, in that he states that there was both good and bad in Arthur Piver....

Yes, he was a great 'marketing man', but also, he was a great 'self-promoter', in the truest sense of the 'Great American Entrepreneur'. He had a Belief - capital B; and he had a Mission - capital M; to tell the world about this great new craft - the trimaran.....and make a buck out of it along the way....which is apparently how he fell foul of his early disciples like Jim.... the money became all important, and relationships were not so important...

So, yeah, I reckon he'd be out there, on an 105ft trimaran, helicopters and TV cameras in tow, some nubile starlet on board for some 'reality television' and spruiking 'his design' till the boat fell over.....and then blaming the wind or the crew for the downfall...

But.. I may be doing him a disservice..... I didn't know the man, he died only a few years after I was born....so am I 'worthy' to comment???

Erm....probably not.... oooops...

[NB: There is no 'smilie' for acute embarrasment]

 

All Piver's books are worth a read, Transpacific Trimaran is interesting and Trimaran Third Book even has some accounts of Newick and his boat Trice. Piver broke with Brown after Jim designed a trimaran and offered it to Piver to sell but then wasn't that a good thing? Design of anything is still art as well as science, if man had no imagination there would be no new ideas to explore.....

 

Sid and Groucho Marx ... without rigs. Sid's wing has been ready to shift for six weeks - but there has been a war between a few whiney residents, the Harbourmaster and crew - and us poor yachties. We have been acquiescent, struggling to make our defensive points heard; the aggression has come from the other two parties and we have been shifted around the bay depending on the political power/complaints from the others. The give and take: 95% take their side, we the dregs. The second shift into less protected area saw a twister come through and rip Groucho's wing mast out ... to the whiners' delight. One of the shroud canting blocks gave way, mast broken into three pieces. I removed all fittings, halyards, rigging and cut the mast into small pieces. Will build a better one later, with straight luff, no curve.
But hopefully, the end is in sight, the mooring positions finally settled, the malcontents and bureaucrats appeased ... Sid's wing can be brought down without causing an uproar - maybe, I have zero trust.
Anyway here's the the two boats (and Mullet boat) in their third positionings before the fourth and final? further out and exposed to all wind and sea conditions. When North Easterly storms come through, I'll just shift and anchor close inshore - the phones will ring then, guaranteed.

 

Sorry to hear Gary, I hope sailing Sid soon compensates the agro.

Cheers,

 

Go and take a dump in their letterboxes gary.

I live not far down the road from you (on meola rd), have no view, but I can think of nothing better to look at that your creations.

Well, maybe looking at my boat woud be better...

 

Good advice nzclipper. In moments (only moments, mind you) I've thought of much worse - but have surprised myself on actually being able to keep my cool ... even though the goal posts are on roller skates and get rushed about so the malcontents can score.

 

Gary. hopefully you can get back to building and sailing again. Before they move your goal posts again.

 

Sorry to hear about the musical chairs Gary. I suppose a boat ride wouldn't help....Maybe you can get enough dirt on them to where they decide its best to live and let live.

 

AHOY GARY! Perhaps its time to consider an easily lowerable Mast.Maybe the masts obscure their views! And get the mast out of the wind when not in use.This is something I've pondered on,for when my platform's out in the 'elements'!More soon!

 

It's true, buzzly, they don't like the .... colours?
Maybe they should check this out.
Be interesting to hear their conflict between patriotism (one has a permanent NZ flag hoisted) and the usual inbuilt multihull ignorance and prejudice. A conundrum.
Mind you, that monster rig would have a very short life span if moored Motions Creek mouth.

 

May another problem is the ones doing the moaning, think you should have your money tied up in a house instead of a boat/s.
How ever every one is entitled to their own opinions, but should not thrust it on to others.

 

The problem with most people who own waterfront real estate is that they think they own the water in front as well, an dif not the water, then the view across it.

It doesn't take much legal nous to point out that their so-called "rights' start and finish at the high water mark across the front of their property....

'Course, the other school of thought is hold a BBQ in a nearby park, invite them all sailing, and win them over.....

Well, it might work on those with kids....ever seen a kid who doesn't like going fast..!!??

 

Exactly, Buzzman - but in this case there is the Queen's Chain, the Public Reserve (20 metres measured horizontally above HW) that runs around the coast ... so the whiners actually do not own that area, don't have riparian rights.
A public walkway around the coast is to be installed soon by Auckland Council ... and you can guess the reaction from those who "own" the views.
What is disappointing is that the Harbourmaster (and crew) take what appears to us, to be an anti-boat owners attitude - and behave subserviently to the small few of complaining and selfish property owners.

 

Yeah, but the home owners pay rates, and have local councilors and MPs they can harass, who in turn harass the poor bloody maritime guys....

Now if you were actually paying for moorings, it would be a different story, as they'd have tpo protect their 'customers' - mooring renters - rather than the whinging landlubbers

Politics......