25 foot Live aboard Trimaran

Discussion in 'Multihulls' started by prabs, Mar 31, 2020.

  1. prabs
    Joined: Mar 2020
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    prabs Junior Member

    I would like to build a 25(to 30) foot long live aboard trimaran sailboat. What outboard motor is recommended for such a trimaran. Any recommendations on books to read before I start building one. Any trimaran plan that is available for sale online. Kindly please help me.
     
  2. JimMath
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    JimMath Junior Member

  3. DGreenwood
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    DGreenwood Senior Member

  4. upchurchmr
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    upchurchmr Senior Member

    You should look at Horstman tri's. They are really bloated and might get you enough room to be live aboard at 25 feet.
    Pick a boat before you worry about a motor.
     
  5. gonzo
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    gonzo Senior Member

    For a liveabord, an inboard motor may be better. Usually, it is easier to fit a large alternator to charge batteries.
     
  6. kapnD
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    kapnD Senior Member

    Hope you’re a small person, 25’ live aboard in any configuration offer very little room to live, much less store anything.
     
  7. DGreenwood
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    DGreenwood Senior Member

    Yup a 25 ft tri would be pretty tiny. Not impossible to live on , particularly in the tropics. I've seen plenty of live-aboards on 30 ft tris. That's why I would point them toward a cat.
     
  8. gonzo
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    gonzo Senior Member

    I used to own a Wharram 34; don't judge me. A tent set between the mast was great in good weather. Temporary setups like that at port can be an advantage on a cat.
     
  9. jamez
    Joined: Feb 2007
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    jamez Senior Member

    Where to begin. ....... I'm assuming you are intending to sail as well as liveaboard, otherwise you may as well be looking for a houseboat.
    I own a 25 foot tri, that I built (used to own a wharram too) and can't imagine living on it for more than a week. I'm completely over camping on boats. Most modern tris of this size are designed with a nod towards performance rather than room/payload capacity. I use my boat for daysailing and the occasional weekend away, and it excells at this.

    Reasonable payload capacity is required to liveaboard, without compromising the sailing abilities of the boat. The most obvious trimaran that might meet your objective would probably be the Searunner 31. But if you are going to build you may find a modern bridgedeck cat like KD860page https://ikarus342000.com/KD860page.htm or Sailing Catamarans - Gypsy - 8.5m Budget Offshore Cruiser with central cuddy http://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/3-25ft-to-30ft-catamarans-designs/176-gypsy is quicker and cheaper to build. People have successfully completed and lived aboard/cruised long distance on both the aforementioned. There are of course any number of older second hand multis (and it has to be said, in the wake of the Covid crisis there are likely to be more) that could meet your requirements, but that is not what you asked about.

    Suggest you read; Multihull Voyaging by Thomas Firth Jones for info on shoestring multihull cruising/liveaboard on designs under 30 feet, with great discussion on the evolution of first 2 or 3 generations of multihulls and and their design compromises. Multihulls for Cruising and Racing by Derek Harvey for analysis and explanation of various design factors. The Searunner construction manual is also worth a read to see what goes into building a ply boat. And of course there is whole bunch of stuff on the internet of varying veracity. BUT; nothing beats actually getting out on the type of boats you think you might be interested in and sailing them to see if they meet your expectations in the real world.
     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2020

  10. guzzis3
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    guzzis3 Senior Member

    He says 25 to 30 feet so don't forget horstman. The 27/9 is a tardis. Even the 24 is pretty big inside and could be stretched. I asked EH about raising the headroom on it, he said it probably should be raised so...

    But it is probably useful to flesh out the brief. Why a tri ? why that length ? what are your parameters ? What is your intended use ? Budget ? Why build ? All the usual questions.
     
    JimMath likes this.
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