Rapido 60 trimaran design by Morrelli and Melvin

A new 60' performance cruising trimaran design by Morrelli and Melvin.

http://www.rapidotrimarans.com/home.html

 

"Rapido"

But...But....its definitely missing something-just can't put my finger on it?

 

I'm missing something... the money to buy it . Should be a performer it's about 8.5 tonnes lighter than Gunboat 60 in lightship state. I'm sure if you have the dosh to buy this you could contact Rapido and have them design and fit a foil system for you and M&M have lots of experience in that area.

Here are the specs of the Rapido and the Gunboat 60 for comparison and yes I know they are very different boats and the Rapido has less accommodation, payload etc.

the Rapido: http://www.rapidotrimarans.com/specs.html

Gunboat 60: http://www.gunboat.com/series/gunboat-60

 

She's missing space. She's designed like a small cruiser, i.e. a very small aft cabin, no machinery room (aircon, generator, spares, warps/fenders etc.). I love the concept but I think the twin saloons should be reworked to create better space utilisation for cruising. I think folks would have greater expectations of a 60' yacht and price range.

 

The Gunboat 60's space kinda hits the nail on the head. I don't expect the same from a tri but it shows what you can get for your buck and if you're cruising for an extended period you need space.

 

It's a niche market that's for sure but I know some people would trade space and payload for performance me included. Lightweight bits like fenders would go in the floats.

It doesn't show an engine room but I imagine it would be under the cockpit sole on such a big boat (which is the rear saloon in the pictures).

 

Space or lack thereof !

Hi Guys ,

I am involved with Rapido 60 project and could not resist responding to some of the comments . Thanks for you views , it is nice to know there is some interest in this concept . We are fairly committed Trimaran sailors having previously owned both Cats and Monuhulls between us and are completely convinced Tri's are the way to go , maybe due to the time I have spent building and sailing them.

This boat evolved in to a 60 footer as we discovered during the design process it worked well at this size . It is very roomy even though it does not look it from some views . But if I was comparing it with a Gunboat , comparing it with a 55 would be more valid .

I dont have drawings of a gunboat but I have built plenty of cats like it ( 25 years ago ) ie Parallax 11 ( smaller but similar concept ) so I have a fair idea how they utilise their space .

I would say our 5.7 M x 3.8 M saloon/cockpit area is about the same size as a Gunboat 55 saloon / cockpit area . Our fwd Cabin/ head area is about 3.5 M wide at the back, 1.5 M wide at the front and 5.2 M long . As well as a big double it has room for a couple of single bunks as well if needed . Aft Cabin is approx 3.6 x 2.9 M , though obviously it gets smaller towards the bottom of the hull .

None of these areas are small ,especially on a Trimaran .

The engine room / machinery area is 3.4 M x 2M x 1.2 and the storage under the outside cockpit sole is 2 x 2 x 1.2 . plus floats have 4.6 x 1.3 x 1.2 storage areas x 2 . I dont think we need any more room and this is in a fast boat that has a lightship displacement of 7700 kg according to the incredibly detailed weight estimate done by MM .

 

Paul, welcome to the forum! I'm curious why you made the decision not to use lifting foils on the amas?
Hope you enjoy the boat!

 

IMO, an eventual decision to use them would be far more curious if the intention is to equip the boat with comfortable accomodation and various stuff for cruising (meaning weight), and to sell the boat to the general public.
If the target market for the boat is a small niche of sailboat agonists with a well-trained crew who are happy to live in a rather spartan and light vessel and are able to control a 60-ft vessel foiling at high speeds, then yes - it could be an option.

 

Rapido

I wasn't asking about "foiling at high speeds", I was asking about foils in the ama for foil assist-proven on many boats to improve the "seakindliness" of a trimaran.

 

You mean retracting foils like DSS?

 

No, curved ama foils like those used in almost every racing tri for a long,long time-most of which are singlehanded at one time or another and boats like Jessica Rabbit and the Farrier F32SR and F85SR and the GF 42 here: http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/multihulls/gf42-trimaran-design-47747.html And many other "cruiser racers"
as well. There have been testaments to how ama foils improve handling by some of the skippers of big trimarans with ama foils.
Here's the designer of Jessica Rabbit on her foils: http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/multihulls/jessica-rabbit-40-foil-equipped-trimaran-46495.html

Hi,

I am Martin Fischer. I designed Jessica Rabbit together with Benoit Cabaret and John Levell. First of all I want to correct something. Further up in this discussion someone wrote that we had reported 40 knots of boat speed. That is not correct, so far our top speed has been 33.1 knots in about 19 knots of wind, two sail reaching on flat water. We have rather regular trade winds here in Noumea and while broad reaching we achieve regularily 30+ knots of boat speed.

We are still "discovering" the boat, but we are getting better at sailing her. Jessica Rabbit has - for the size of the boat - relatively large foils and she has T-rudders. This combination of big foils with T-rudders stabilises the boat very nicely. So far we never have had any critical nose dive situation or any kind of pitch instability.

We sailed the boat once with normal rudders in about the same conditions as on the video. The difference was quite dramatic. Broad reaching the boat was much less stable. Average speed was about 2 knots lower and top speed more than 3 knots lower.

Upwind the boat is pretty amazing for a 40-footer. Up to about 16 knots of wind we are doing 14 to 15 knots of boat speed, which is what we expected. But in 18 to 20 knots of wind the boat suddenly steps on her foils while sailing upwind and boat speed increases instantaneously from about 14.5 kts to 17.5 kts. This was achieved with a true wind angle of about 44 to 45 degres.

Most of the tooling of Jessica Rabbit is still available - so contact me (martin.ncl@gmail.com) or Philippe if you are interested.

 

Hi Doug ,

I guess the concept was to build a good fast cruising trimaran while keeping it simple and comfortable for cruising . Simplicity , lack of stress on both the crew and the boat were priorities .

The reality is the boat will be too fast for some people as it is so we did not feel the need to push the boundaries of the market that far this time .

We will be fitting a T rudder to help smooth out the ride but not foils at this point .

I am sure foils have a place on multihulls but not this one at this time , never say never !

Regards Paul

 

@Paul:
I would say that it is a very sensible decision, considering the already impressive speeds the boat's polar indicate.

I also believe that foils are here to stay, but not so much on cruising boats. They imply several things which most boat owners don't like:

1. higher boat design, building and maintenance costs
2. trained crew, which implies costs and loss of privacy
3. in alternative to the crew, an automatic handling system - which implies even more costs and possibility of failure
4. higher probability of damage to the boat or mechanical failure of foiling system
5. the insurance premium will probably be higher, because of the previous points.

That said, there will always be a niche of true die-hard adventurers who have the money, like the idea of flying over the water surface and do not give a damn about the relax and comfort. Foiling will certainly have a strong appeal to them and could (or perhaps should) be developed as an option.
Cheers and good luck with this great-looking boat!