How to get started making a trimaran

Hi! I'm for a project that would take less than three month to design and build a small (around 12 foot) folding trimaran that I can load onto the top of a minivan. How would I get started designing and making without spending too much

 

Welcome to the Forum 3ert.

For a start, I think you will find a lot of good information here, on Richard Woods' page about small trimarans he has designed -
Sailing Catamarans - Click here for Trimarans Under 20ft (6 designs) https://sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/27-trimarans-under-25

Richard's smallest tri is the 10' Tryst; the next one up is the 14' Zeta, so you could maybe try combining features from both for your 12' design?

Although realistically, I think it would be much easier and simpler in the long run to simply choose one or the other to build - Richard has done all the hard work for you already, and his designs are proven to work.

 

Realistically, you wouldn't be able to start from scratch and design a folding trimaran in less than three months; let alone build it too. What is the reason behind the constraint of it being a trimaran? It is short to make that efficient. Also, folding mechanisms are rather complicated. What are the goals of the design? For example, the amount of people it must carry, weight, fit on the rack of a minivan, etc. After you make the list you can compare solutions like a small jon boat will fit on the rack.

 

Three months design and build will result in a bad design and a bad build.

 

@3ert seems to have lost interest very quickly in this thread - he has not logged in to the Forum since the day when he made his first (and only) post.

If you are still following this thread though - please take heed of the advice above, and don't try to design your own trimaran - just buy a set of ready made plans.

 

He's too busy designing his tri.