Historical multihulls

[oldmulti]

Anyone interested in some structural details of Lex Nicol Devils 3 (36 foot racing tri), Cliff hanger (42 foot racercruiser tri), Moolahbar Firetruck (50 foot aluminum racing tri). Each are light weight, interesting design concepts that have raced 1000's of miles and lasted (I also accept phills view that Devils 3 is a little tired).

 

[Angélique]

Choy Design → C/S/K Catamarans (9 clickable designs near the bottom of the page)

‘‘ In 1957, Rudy Choy, Alfred Kumalae and Warren Seaman formed C/S/K Catamarans. The partnership, joined by Vince Bartolone in the early 1960’s, was responsible for some of the fastest and most innovative catamarans ever created. . . . . ’’

Rudy Choy & Woody Brown​

Aikane 48' (14.63 m) — 1957​

↓ History of C/S/K Catamarans

‘‘ In 1947 Woody Brown, Alfred Kumalae and Rudy Choy built MANUKAI, the first catamaran of the modern era. The inspiration for this revolutionary boat lay in the ancient Polynesian Double-Canoes that had enabled migration to Hawai'i from Tahiti over 1,500 years ago, a time in which Western man was still land-bound. . . . . ’’

Warren Seaman during construction of Foamy​

↓ Hawai’iloa

‘‘ Inspired by the Polynesian voyaging canoe HOKULE’A, HAWAI’ILOA was conceived under a grant from the U.S. Government to continue and expand upon the educational work done with HOKULE’A. However, unlike HOKULE’A, which was constructed using modern methods (cold-molded plywood), this new voyaging canoe was carved from solid spruce logs. . . . . ’’

Hawai'iloa in Honolulu harbor, March 2002 ↓

— it looks to me like the from the aft beam upward tilted rudder blade is sticking out of the stern there —

‘‘ . . . . Hawaiʻiloa is also the name of a voyaging canoe. Thought to be named after the legendary navigator, the canoe was built and sailed for international navigation. The canoe Hawaiʻiloa is now docked at Honolulu Harbor. It is often sailed on long voyages throughout the Pacific Ocean in hopes of studying voyaging techniques used in Ancient Hawaii. . . . . ’’

 

[Gary Baigent]

Groucho Marx slowly coming together after almost being destroyed.

 

[oldmulti]

Gary
Could you please tell us some details about SJ hull (which I think is Groucho main hull). Was it tortured ply, did it have glass on the outside etc. Multihull Structure Thoughts thread is trying to build up a knowledge base of multi structures to use as a reference guide for others.

 

[Gary Baigent]

Frog (see photographs) was built the same way as Supplejack but of thinner 3mm ply; SJ was 4 or 4.5, I've forgotten. The Gougeons' Adagio was 6mm I believe and that must have been very difficult to bend/tension/torture. On Frog and SJ outside was glassed and some high load areas inside too plus some areas in carbon on Frog. In late 1970s building the cat we didn't know about carbon, or we did but couldn't obtain it. However we used uni directional glass tows for chainplates; that was radical in those days, no metal. Old guard made faces but we have never had any breakage problems.

 

[Dolfiman]

View attachment 147623
Groucho Marx slowly coming together after almost being destroyed.

Beautiful picture of a beautiful design, I like the foils in close frame, seems to me very relevant structurally speaking, at equivalent weight it is a lot more easy to have them rigid and resistant that a cantilever mounting.

 

[luff tension]

I dont know much about this other than what's written there but is definitely an historic multihull.

 

[Angélique]

It's David Knaggs' foiling tri Excalibur* I think, there's a bit more info about it in post #594 and the following posts, which actually started in post #51.

P.S. - * Excalibur name is an mistake, see the below post #1332 and #1333.

 

[Angélique]

First one below comes from the thread: 6.5 to 7.5 metre performance/cruise multihulls → post #301 by Gary Baigent...

. . . . also the local Auckland Knaggs foiler from a few decades ago . . . .

Below comes from this Historical Multihulls thread post #596, also by Gary Baigent...

Dave Knaggs' foiler plan; this is a later foil version of your shot, foilernz, where the foils were ladder-like and fixed angle of attack; these T foils were adjusted by the inclined wand. Dave was ahead of his time - but this special design rotted away in his back garden, eventually he burnt it.

 

[Gary Baigent]

Excalibur was David Knaggs Great Barrier Express design, one of the earliest Tennant GBEs. Here's a shot I took from Supplejack.

 

[Angélique]

Thanks for the info Gary, so from the earlier posts I've misinterpreted or misremembered the boat name of David Knaggs' little foiling tri, and mistakenly named it after his GBE.

 

[Doug Halsey]

This boat is reputed to be the first trimaran built and raced in the U.S. (at least according to the local newspaper). Whether the claim is true, or not, I think the boat qualifies as a "Historical Multihull."

TrimaranAtGulfportRegatta

• Doug Halsey
• Dec 30, 2018

​

I took the photo at an all-class regatta in Gulfport, Florida in May, 1959 when I was 12 years old and competing in Optimist Prams, which had raced the day before. (I'm making excuses for any technical deficiencies.)

I don't think I had ever seen a trimaran before, and I was amazed how gracefully it was moving through the water. It was entered in the misc. class for boats with sail area >150 square feet, competing against a Cheetah Cat, an E-Scow, and various others.

It won the series that day, and was at or near the top in several other events in Florida over the next few years. I don't remember being able to study it up close, but I've always wanted to find out more about it.

I've been researching the archives of old newspapers, particularly for information on boats that my Dad & Uncle had sailed. They were active in the Moth, Suicide, & Trailer classes (all development classes) in the 1930s & 1940s. I also remembered this trimaran, and went searching for information on it too.

The first article I found about it was this one, published on May 8, 1959. This is where I heard that it was thought to be the 1st trimaran built & raced in the USA.

1st Trimaran Built & Raced in US

• Doug Halsey
• Dec 30, 2018

The article identifies the builder as Vic Carpenter, who went on to a very successful career building wooden boats in Michigan, and whom the Gougeon brothers reportedly credited with introducing them to the advantages of epoxy & wood construction. (Another article gives the weight of the 24 footer as an ultra-light 318 lbs.)

It was mentioned in several more articles from 1959 - 1963, particularly with regards to the annual Royal Gaboon race (a zany free-for-all event from St. Petersburg to Sarasota), which it won at least once.

The last article I've found so far was in 1963, saying that it was entered in Yachting magazine's One-Of-A-Kind regatta, but it's not mentioned in any of the results (the winner was Van Allen Clark's C-Cat Beverly).

I'm still digging in the archives & hope to find out whatever happened to it. Does anyone here happen to remember this amazing boat, and have any more recent information about it?

 

[Doug Lord]

Thats very interesting! Never heard of it before-thanks....

 

[Gary Baigent]

What about Victor Tchetchet's 1945 trimaran design; it's in Robert B Harris's Racing and Cruising Trimarans.

 

[Doug Halsey]

What about Victor Tchetchet's 1945 trimaran design; it's in Robert B Harris's Racing and Cruising Trimarans.

Well, that one is certainly older. Either they weren't aware of it, or it doesn't fit the category of "built & raced in the US."

I have an article or two about it somewhere & will check into it ASAP.