Chris White Juniper II Trimaran.

These boats aren't common, that's for sure:

1989 Chris White Juniper 2 Trimaran Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1989/Chris-White-Juniper-2-Trimaran-3026447/Fort-Lauderdale/FL/United-States#.WXJ4l8YpBDs

I am tempted but I have reservations concerning the builder. What is your opinion?

The intent us to moore it in a protected anchorage in Crete and make multi-month loops around the Med, often shorthanded.

 

Well she has been around long enough so they must have built her decent and she is a beauty but might not be great for shorthanded sailing, I read this on cruisers forum, I bet you could dig up more info with a little looking -

Larry, the Juniper 2 (nee ‘Carisa’) is for sale. Yes, it could be yours … The Multihull Company (Philadelphia, PA)
Carisa was built by good friends Don & Tamar Clark. She is a work of art. Thing is... @ 54", the boat was HUGE on the outside & small on the inside. They never got it all painted at once, it was so large. They would be back in the yard doing more painting, every other year. Also, the free standing mast were Chris White's originals. They required sock sails that were VERY hard to raise, and the mast required reefing early due to bend. (a spinaker was risky too for this reason) Still, 10 knots of speed much of the time, was NO problem! Chris's Juniper l , was retrofitted with modern stayed mast. (presumably with full battens & roller bearing cars) This really made it a better boat... IMO This is a great boat, but not for the mild of heart!
Best, Mark

 

Thanks Mark, very helpful. It has loose footed mains, unstayed masts and a nice lazy jack system that raises the reefed sails to a vertical position against the mast. All that's needed is an electric winch to raise the sails, no other muscle is required.

I'll be speaking with CW as I'm interested to hear his opinion about the builder and the construction. It has a workmanlike finish that may require a few upgrades but I'm withholding opinion until I see it.

 

I know that there are plenty of Freedom's which, while initially designed for sails sleeved along the luff, now have mainsail track systems. So switching would likely be an option. And if you were to go that route, due to then having the option of running full length battens, you could add more roach to the sail if you liked. Not to mention that such full battens would make sail handling much simpler.

 

Some quotes from the Dragonfly 39 thread...

The famous Dutch solo ocean sailor Henk de Velde lived and sailed 4 years on a CW Juniper I (hull № 1, I believe), and did 50.000 splendid NM with her, as he says here...

Henk de Velde, the never ending journey ---> History

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‘‘ . . . . Here you will find information about the 6 circumnavigations. From the first till the last. . . . .

. . . . The 6th was a voyage to paradise. Some call Juniper the best sailing yacht in the world. Designed and built by Chris White. Aim was the most bang for the buck. She was launched in 1981 but Juniper was her time far ahead. She still looks like a modern trimaran with her high placed gullwing beams. Length 52 ft, beam 30 ft, draft 4.6 ft, ketch rigged, rotating wingmasts, 1200 sqft of sail + 600 sqft mps. I left Europe in 2007 and returned 2011 after 50.000 splendid miles. . . . . ’’



See also: Small Trimaran Design ---> An Interview with one of the worlds great voyageurs of today...

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The above 1981 JUNIPER, hull #1, is now for sale in Puerto Rico...

‘‘ . . . . 'Juniper' was designed, built and sailed for 25 years, by the designer Chris White and his wife, before she was sold to the renowned Dutch sailor, Henk de Velde. Henk completed a mostly solo, high latitude circumnavigation from 2007 to 2011, making it his 6th circumnavigation. . . . . ’’

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