22 - 24 trimaran

air matresses

Funny you mention air mattresses because the new boat is designed to fit 2 twin air mattresses perfectly between the beams -- length going outwards. They are enclosed in a "pillow case" made of tennis backstop for protection and to look better. The beams have light poly rope loosely draped between the beams and the the "pillow cases" sit in the rope and then are lashed into place. The advantage of this is that they are as light or lighter than trampoline material, they smooth out the beams so there is less air drag, they are very comfortable and dry, and if there is an accident, they add flotation ( the boat has 5 flotation members with them ). If they leak they are easily replaceable.

 

airbags

I like that- I have several flotation bags in my hulls, but they just add weight and take up space unless/until they are ever needed, and air matresses have a lot! of volume. Nice! Bruce

 

hey RHP! yeah i hear you-i have designed and built five boats- all of them "intuitively" designed- no autocad etc. and very inexpensive. and they work well. a hull is not the "expensive" part of a boat- the sails and the fittings- complex electronics, cell phones, depth finders, computers etc. are what makes it expensive--after all just uttering the word "yacht" makes the average guy wince in economic fear and take up birdwatching.
And we are getting so complicated, that we are going to sea in floating electronic condos with sails!- it goes on ad-infinitum!- faster , more complicated, bigger, - more expensive. toys! toys! toys!
- i think we are forgetting WHY we sail in the first place- to enjoy sailing! to travel, to connect to nature and water. I think we need to lose the complexity and luxury-
right now im designing and building a tri that is a cruiser and fast-- but I am talking bare minimum essentials here; hull, food, water and a mattress-(sleep) and cabin for shelter(and of course the minimum coast guard requirements)- To me, nothing more is needed except wind. Poor and rich alike should know what it is like to sail his own boat....bollocks to the convention!- so i say-

if you want a good inexpensive tri, use designs that employ ultimate simplicity-
Albeit, perhaps it wont win any awards...but
my philosphy is about using gut instinct design and sailing methods, because for me they work. also i look to the polynesians- They never did some sacred "autocad trimaran prayer dance" and the lines plans for the latest balsa log hull were air dropped by seagull the following week! nope they just went - hey look at that log float- hmmm i bet it'd make a great ama! what if we we tied it to our canoe? They kept things simple.
for instance, I say If people dont like my practical polytarp sails and i get sneared at- well...hey who am i to stop someone from a good insult. i say go ahead laugh aweigh!
See, I get the last laugh- especially when i am sailing and they are in a five year build ashore still saving up for dacron and fittings and computer electonics. but to each their own. if they can "afford" to be dependant on high tech...hey all the more power to them...if not.."go with your inner compass"!
peace to all.

 

When I built my KHSD 23 it cost 3500 can., 200 for plans, 1000 for the hobbie rig, and 1000 for a trailer. I might have spent twice the 3500 building it on molds, rent, tools etc... But for the most part the rate of expenditures on that kind of stuff has been stable over my lifetime, so whether it is really appropriate to allot those costs for the period of the build to any one project is questionable.

I have gone over the list of materials, in the last 20 years most have stayed the same number, ply, cloth. Epoxy has gone down dramatically with many more competitive brands, many reasonable quality. About the only thing that has got more expensive is lumber which is up by a factor of four+, though I think we also know more about alternatives, and have many strategies to spin it out, and it was wasted in certain areas in the design I built. Up here finding second hand sails cost me more than two complete boats in the US, and I think Cragislist would have been a huge help had it existed, keeping the cost of the sails and trailer much lower. Of course, anyone building today has access to the internet for a mountain of useful how and what to do information, which saves a lot of dough we spent on long distance, study plans, travel, books, magazines, etc... So I think it would be possible to hit those number again, give or take. The idea that one needs to spend 30K on a boat this size that is homebuilt is not always true. Though one can easily spend any number on outfitting where my budget was clearly woeful. Still you could get it launched and then play upgrade for ever after.

My biggest mistake was that I built the wrong boat. The boat is an excellent design, but not cruising enough in focus for what I wanted. Too slow to launch for the gunkholling exploits I had in mind, and horribly configured for the camper minded person. And it ought to have been obvious. It would have served the club sailor off a mooring type user to a T. I have never seen a Farrier I didn't dislike, but the likelihood is that his Trailertri 18 would have been perfect for me, and would have spent a lot more of the last 20 years in the water than has the boat I built.

 

Could you sell the Hughes boat and construct something more to your needs?

 

There is no doubt the wrong boat will get used less. I've used my Wharram more in the 2 years its been in the water than I used my keel-boat in 10 years. Everythings easier and its just more fun.

Options for a home built folding tri were certainly limited 20 years ago.
Ray Kendricks Scarab 18 looks a sensible modern design of that type/size.

 

oldsailor7- i sent you a private message- do you still have the plans I havent heard from you--??..i am interested in the plans and will buy a set as soon as you tell me how to do that??

sorry for posting this in public but thought somehow my private message to you never got there..thanks..btw there must be a way to build this without waterstays!???

 

Hi ThomD- thanks - i am considering a KH design the tri 23..i believe you are mentioning the same design..a cylinder molded 23 trimaran?. small camping type? the KHSD 23 is Kurt hughes?? i looked at that design though and think it must cost now about double what you paid...when did you build it?/.i am considering a Kohler cat with biplane rig because of the simplicity of sailing - no need for extra sails i.e spinnaker etc. and the speed is close to a tri. especially since the hulls dont have daggerboards and are assymetrical.

 

Hi I am new to the world of boat building and I am wondering does anyone have a rough estimate on the cost of materials for a 24foot trimaran.

 

Dont know about Ireland, but over here a simple ply tri hulls, $7000, rig and sails $7000, beams and hardware, $5000.... very rough guide for very simple setup. could easy be 3x that if you wanted to use exotic materials.

Could also be a lot cheaper if you can get some deals...

 

Hi thanks for the quick reply. Just on the first $7000 is that for ply and resin? And to be honest I am not looking at using a sail I was thinking of a powered tri...

What would be your thoughts on a diesel Inboard and in particular a VW group 1.9tdi(Lightweight,High Horsepower & Torque and very economical).

 

Yea prob include paint, fastnings, timber for stringers etc.

Dont see a prob with the motor, needs to be marinised tho could be expensive.

 

what is the most expensive part of the basic build materials?

and what exactly does marinising the engine entail?

 

Maybe start a new thread on this, it sounds like a cool project, the author of this thread has already got annoyed by me talking about an outdated design, let alone a power tri!

however as far as I know (im not a marine engineer) you just have to figure out how to cool the motor. This is called marinising and it usually involves running saltwater thru a heat exchanger to cool the fresh cooling water, then it needs a gearbox etc...

 

Maybe start a new thread on this, it sounds like a cool project, the author of this thread has already got annoyed by me talking about an outdated design, let alone a power tri!

however as far as I know (im not a marine engineer) you just have to figure out how to cool the motor. This is called marinising and it usually involves running saltwater thru a heat exchanger to cool the fresh cooling water, then it needs a gearbox etc...

My parents used a marinised tractor motor in there 50ft cruising yacht and have done over 10000 ocean miles with great sucess.

The most expensive part of a boat is the labor, then the mast and sails or motor (for a power boat). Everything else is cheap.