Tri not capsize!

[Ozz]

Hey guys

I've been reading through forums all over the place trying to form an opinion of my own about trimarans. Personally I like them for various reasons but that's beside the point.

What I'm interested to know is regarding what causes trimarans to capsize. I think it's an accepted fact that they do, they can be righted and so on. But my understanding is that there two reasons for a capsize and please correct me if I'm wrong. The wind catches it and blows the mast over, mast disappears below the surface pulling the tri upside-down. Second instance is when a tri pitchpoles, ass over head! This I assume happens when a hull digs into a wave and the momentum carries the rest over.

How does a trimaran handle in rough seas 30'+ waves with storm sails?

I'd be interested to hear from those of you with experience... and not just opinions from monohaulers

Thanks

[Corley]

Trimarans are a little more sensitive to wave induced capsize at the extreme but still are very safe good initial design and careful seamanship should see you through the worst weather, being appropriately equipped with drogues and parachute anchors also is essential a good reference book is Multihull Seamanship by Gavin LaSueur. A larger trimaran 12m or above is recommended for offshore work but plenty of much smaller boats have made safe passage by keeping a careful eye on weather windows.

It's also worth remembering that when we talk trimarans it was the hull form most popular from the beginning of multihull development a lot has been learnt in that time about seaworthy hull shapes (low buoyancy floats were once thought to be the way to go but have proved to be dangerous in large sea conditions) and multihull seamanship additionally most trimaran capsizes you hear of are boats that are being pushed to the limit day after day that carry huge rigs or very light daysailing race machines. Most extreme high performance ocean going multihulls are trimarans as they have superior sailing performance over a range of conditions which are required to win records.

A lot of things combine to make a seaworthy boat including a seaworthy skipper a recent wind induced capsize of an Atlantic 57 catamaran indicates that reducing sail early and not underestimating the serious nature of conditions at sea is essential. Even a Fusion 40 a quite undercanvassed cruising catamaran has been capsized by an inexperienced skipper in NZ.

I still feel a little pukealicious today after heading out of Westernport Bay in Wind against tide on a friends cruising cat yesterday ahh short sharp chop... give me ocean swells anyday.