My Small Bluewater Trimaran

Hi all! I am new here and I have been lurking for some time while designing my boat. My initial goal was to build a small boat able to take me out to the deep waters while remaining stable. Of course with this criteria this is an unconventional boat. Most people who see it ask "What is it?" No design ratios or formulas fit this design. It is very lightweight but hopefully it handles moderately stiff and cruises 'heavy' with low horsepower propulsion. If it is as seaworthy as I have designed it to be maybe I will try a circumnavigation
What do you guys think? Who's going with me?

 

Here it is... be gentle

 

Obviously it won't plane...how much HP do I need to get reasonable speed (15kn) with 3.5' draft?
1200 lbs
LWL 10'
Beam 12'

 

Got anymore pics? It very difficult to see what this looks like, in the above pic it looks more like an oil rig platform than it does a boat...

 

I had to quit looking at the picture, got a sore neck from tilting my head to all sorts of angles.

 

Lots of eddy making and drag associated with that set of shapes and volume on those basic dimensions, so good luck. Can you post some lines so we can see what's really going on, as lens distortion seems to be fairly severe on this one image. 5 HP will likely push you along, but in deep water, you'll probably need 10 HP just to push her uphill.

There's an old saying about never going to sea, in a boat shorter then the seas you'll encounter. This boat seems destined to test this old wive's tail. Do yourself a big favor and place an escape hatch in the bottom somewhere (as well as a locating beacon), as a pitch pole event is probably inevitable if you do venture into deep water with a short, fat boat.

 

You say it is "If it is as seaworthy as you have designed it to be". Can you explain what the design concept was? From the photo it looks like it will have a huge resistance. What does cruising heavy mean?

 

Looking at the picture reminded me of a new type of trimaran I just read about in the February/March issue of Professional BoatBuilder magazine, pgs 14-16.
This is a short summary that goes with the drawing below from PBB:

"Dutch designer Jelle Bilkert tank tested his unusual hull form at MARIN and later was assisted by Van Oossanen Naval Architects.
It's said to have low resistance and high stability. Bikert hopes to license construction for recreational and commercial applications."

click--

 

More pics

 

Stern view is the same as port and starboard views...this is before I put sides on

 

Bow port side

 

Cruising heavy to me means handling and having the feel and stability of a boat three times its size and weight....it sits down in the water

 

sitting deep is one thing but thinking that (any hp) will make it go 15 knots at 10ft water line length is another. I don't think that is going to happen.

 

It's not . . .

 

Well I don't know if theoretical hull speed formulas would work in this case but I envisioned based on the low weight, beam:draft ratio, fine entry point slicing thru the waves, etc I could hit 15 km easily