small trimarans

Bruce, judging from afar based on your info I'd say forget the foil and stick with some sort of ama. Your boat does not appear to be fast enough to make use of the foil too effectively .

[mattotoole]

Originally Posted by casavecchia

With the obvious exception of the Rave and the Trifoiler,
the small trimarans I see on the web are too low on the water and this is so much in contrast with the spydery look of the big racing trimarans. The small ones dont trasmit the impression of agility and nimbleness that their bigger brothers suggest. May be that's the reason for their scarce appeal. Anyway they are a good platform for testing hydrofoils. They are easily and cheaply built in plywood, sharpie style, and lend themselves perfectly to workboat use.
Marco

Appearance is one thing, but I agree, being close to the water may limit these boats' appeal. One of the advantages of a small tri is that it requires less athleticism -- a skipper can sit in one spot and hardly move. But people seeking that probably don't want to be getting doused by waves and blasted with spray.

This was one great thing about the original Farrier Trailertri -- it was relatively dry, more like a Rhodes 19, etc., than anything with similar speed. Even the Tremolino was a wet boat.

I think small tri's designed to fly the main hull like the Open 60's would be a lot drier and a lot faster than most current small tri's and maybe some cats as well. I think the tri platform is ideal for a non athletic approach to high speed sailing BUT it doesn't have to be that way. The power added by moving the crew side to side on a "square" under 20' tri would be awesome...

[WFSTANTON]

I Would Like To See A Plan For A Small Tri Based On The Hobie 14 Hulls For Amas And The Rig On A Home Built Center Hull. Hard Seats Outboard The Gunwales For Stability And A Centerboard For Easy Beaching. Sporting Performance, And Pleasure, Combined With Simplicity And Utility. Yoohoo Anybody Out There Listening?

[mattotoole]

Originally Posted by WFSTANTON

I Would Like To See A Plan For A Small Tri Based On The Hobie 14 Hulls For Amas And The Rig On A Home Built Center Hull. Hard Seats Outboard The Gunwales For Stability And A Centerboard For Easy Beaching. Sporting Performance, And Pleasure, Combined With Simplicity And Utility. Yoohoo Anybody Out There Listening?

Well, there's always the Tremolino, based on Hobie 16 hulls. While most were fiberglass, the original design was for home-built plywood. I'm sure the plans are still available.

Hobie 14 hulls probably don't have enough bouyancy for a tri like you describe -- in fact they have trouble holding up two people in heavy winds.

The problem with boats like this is, the rig and hulls were never engineered for the trimaran's greater righting moment. Evrything's overstressed, and tends to wear out or break. Tremolinos are fun boats within their limits, but tend to suffer from blown out sails, etc. Many Tremolino owners have replaced the original Hobie rig and amas with more suitable parts. Of course old Hobie parts are plentiful and cheap, which is probably the appeal.

The top choice in this category would be the Haines Hunter Tramp, the original Farrier-designed folding tri daysailor. It's exactly what you seem to want. Of course availability depends on where you are. I'm sure there are plenty in Australia. I've seen several in the US over the years. I don't know if they were ever officially imported, to the US, or Europe/UK.

Matt, I searched for this boat but came up blank, Do you have a pix or link that you could post?
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WFStanton, you might look for the 18' Sailbird tri-don't know anything much about it except that it was not a real high performance design .I think it was built in or around St, Pete....

[mattotoole]

Originally Posted by Lorsail

Matt, I searched for this boat but came up blank, Do you have a pix or link that you could post?

Doug, I'll try to find some. I've actually come across articles about it recently, but lost the links. In the meantime you could try searching for stuff about the designer, Ian Farrier.

[mattotoole]

OK Doug, here you go:

http://www.f-boat.com/pages/trimarans/Tramp.html

http://www.f-boat.com/owners/

Here's one for sale, assuming this isn't an old web page:

http://foma.sailnet.com/classifd.htm

Thanks , Matt!

[SeaDrive]

see:
http://www.geocities.com/tremsetters/
especially:
http://www.geocities.com/tremsetters/tremplans.htm

[bfrowe]

Look in Small Craft Advisor: May/June 2002 issue #15 for a cover picture and boat review of Haines Hunter Tramp.