I built a tremolino eater, and it is a great boat. Plans were 200 at the time, and when I did a refit, I got the modern set courtesy Kurt (will not be built), and the new version is just awesome.
I always thought Kurt's public relations were a little odd. I could design a boat that would beat a Newick on some criterion, so long as he was not going to fire back. Anyone could. The Tremolino, is a genius design, but if I am not mistaken it is not Newick's idea, but Olin's. So to use it as a yardstick for whatever you want to say about Newick, is not sensible. Kurt's early TEs did sit low at the transom, though mine is lovely. There can be builder effects there. You do not want to go all cheap on the epoxy in the gutter, cause, hey, all epoxies are the same... Designers get tagged by the boats as built. And Kurt is up front about the risks of building in CM or Stressform. But the builders are for sure going to blame him. There have been some calamities by folks who couldn't build a birdhouse, but decided to build a 40 foot cat.
I also thought that Kurt was wrong from a cruising perspective (not his perspective) about the center cockpit. The reality is that while the house is at mid boat, the good space is all taken up by the board. Mine almost sank one night in a rough anchorage, and required some navy seal swim skills
to get out to and bail out in a storm. I would far rather have the board pumping water into a self draining cockpit. I would far rather have two crappy distinct berths than one. I would far rather load the boat up in the center than have it load in the back and have to place a person far forward to hold the bow down. Little boats are not jusy scaled down big boats. All the usual rules do not apply, and I think this is one situation where Newick has had some tremendous insight.
All that said, the TE is pretty magic. If you buy a stock plan you always have the issue of your vision vs the designer's vision. I learned a hell of a lot more from exploring Kurt's ideas. There were a lot of disappointments, but sailing the boat was not one of them. And even the look of the boat was way better than expected. The aluminum beams are kinda nice after all
I never really bought the 0/90 stuff. There are plenty of structures that use beams for the longi, and some other orientation for the fill. Think footbridges. But where CM shines is it makes pretty nice boats, and you get a 24 foot trimaran for the cost of a 16 foot kevlar canoe, all in, no rig or sails. Works for me. There are a lot of people who talk minimal or cheap, but along with Wharram, Kurt is one of the few who really walks the talk.
Kurt was mostly right about KISS. The only wrong part you might say was that people seem to love KISS. You can't really fight that. If people are for it, whether it is KISS or Newick, you might as well get in line.
Over the years I got probably 20 grand of services from Kurt, and paid in 300 buck, some study plans, and a skiff plan. In my experience, as with a lot of these guys, he will give a lot more than he takes. His main defense against the takers is that he can be a little hard to approach at times. Suck it up, it is hard graft building a boat and you need some calluses.
I always thought Kurt's public relations were a little odd. I could design a boat that would beat a Newick on some criterion, so long as he was not going to fire back. Anyone could. The Tremolino, is a genius design, but if I am not mistaken it is not Newick's idea, but Olin's. So to use it as a yardstick for whatever you want to say about Newick, is not sensible. Kurt's early TEs did sit low at the transom, though mine is lovely. There can be builder effects there. You do not want to go all cheap on the epoxy in the gutter, cause, hey, all epoxies are the same... Designers get tagged by the boats as built. And Kurt is up front about the risks of building in CM or Stressform. But the builders are for sure going to blame him. There have been some calamities by folks who couldn't build a birdhouse, but decided to build a 40 foot cat.
I also thought that Kurt was wrong from a cruising perspective (not his perspective) about the center cockpit. The reality is that while the house is at mid boat, the good space is all taken up by the board. Mine almost sank one night in a rough anchorage, and required some navy seal swim skills
to get out to and bail out in a storm. I would far rather have the board pumping water into a self draining cockpit. I would far rather have two crappy distinct berths than one. I would far rather load the boat up in the center than have it load in the back and have to place a person far forward to hold the bow down. Little boats are not jusy scaled down big boats. All the usual rules do not apply, and I think this is one situation where Newick has had some tremendous insight.All that said, the TE is pretty magic. If you buy a stock plan you always have the issue of your vision vs the designer's vision. I learned a hell of a lot more from exploring Kurt's ideas. There were a lot of disappointments, but sailing the boat was not one of them. And even the look of the boat was way better than expected. The aluminum beams are kinda nice after all
I never really bought the 0/90 stuff. There are plenty of structures that use beams for the longi, and some other orientation for the fill. Think footbridges. But where CM shines is it makes pretty nice boats, and you get a 24 foot trimaran for the cost of a 16 foot kevlar canoe, all in, no rig or sails. Works for me. There are a lot of people who talk minimal or cheap, but along with Wharram, Kurt is one of the few who really walks the talk.
Kurt was mostly right about KISS. The only wrong part you might say was that people seem to love KISS. You can't really fight that. If people are for it, whether it is KISS or Newick, you might as well get in line.
Over the years I got probably 20 grand of services from Kurt, and paid in 300 buck, some study plans, and a skiff plan. In my experience, as with a lot of these guys, he will give a lot more than he takes. His main defense against the takers is that he can be a little hard to approach at times. Suck it up, it is hard graft building a boat and you need some calluses.
