Advice on Trimarans

[LuvSun]

Actually the farrier f36 looks nicer for me, enclosed toilet, wheel instead of rudder further up. hmmm. not sure which is better. but a used f36 is very affordable

[Training Wheels]

The beauty of a good tri is you can sail fast very easily. Sure, you can push it and get a couple of more knots, but you don’t have to. I can easily sail our 44’ tri solo. I when I sail on a mono, I’m incredulous at how much more difficult it is to go slower.

When going upwind, if your powered up, the float may go straight through a wave, no big deal. A good tri will let you know it’s time to reef before your burying a hill. Worst case, which is why it’s safer to push a tri harder, is you can see how far your depressing the Lee float.
Modern tris have more floatation in the floats and the bows than older tris. Some of the older tris we’re home built much heavier than their designed weight, making them slow and heavy.

Any multihull, big breaking, beam seas are death. I dare say monos as well. Seamanship. Run away at 12-14 knots comfortably.

We looked at a Catana 39 before we bought our boat. We thought, we don’t need or want all that space and freeboard!

Disadvantages? Watch the ounces!
[ATTACH]183993

[LuvSun]

Originally Posted by Training Wheels

Any multihull, big breaking, beam seas are death. I dare say monos as well. Seamanship. Run away at 12-14 knots comfortably.

[ATTACH]183993

Yes Ive been look at the newer performance cats, 12 ton displacement vs 16-18

But you get a lot of seaworthy boat for your money on a tri. I mostly want it to zip out to offshore islands, go spearfishing, go diving and zip back.

So your saying just cut away from that breaking 10m wave? I think the hardest thing 1up is when you have to sleep.

[Training Wheels]

Don’t think you’ll have to worry about 10m breaking waves zipping out to the islands! In those conditions you’re talking big winds. Most likely be towing a drogue. The idea is not to to be in those conditions, to use forecasting and your speed for avoidance.

[LuvSun]

Oh no I sail the pacific as well, but I just want a tri to replace the powerboat for spearfishing, that way I can get rid of the cat too. Haha I was being extreme re swell.


Yes winds here are usually 15-30knots. No problem in my 12foot Caribe tender, I do 30knot over the top of the white caps. Usually 3metres at the most further out (it does get bigger but who wants to be out in 40 knots 5 metre swells) Surprisingly in leeigh of the islands it can be almost flat.

I seldom sail back to Aus for winter as I usually working too hard in winter but the weather is better in winter with sunshine most winter long, i think a trimaran could be nice for moreton bay.

[Training Wheels]

I know nothing about Australia. All I can say is get a tri if you love to sail. It has disadvantages, but when you are sailing, nothing else matters, it is for you. A tri is a sailors boat. If you want it just to save fuel, forget it. You must have the passion for sail.

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by LuvSun

SNIP

They are super cheap to comparable sized cats.

SNIP

I bought a Seawind after looking at several other multihulls. After owning for six years. The only second thoughts I had was when I looked at an F39. I sailed on several flavors of fboats and without question they are stupid fun to sail. Problem for me was that while the Seawind had a huge dance floor due to the combined salon/cockpit there was not really a lot of space on the tris. Sure you could get on the tramps between the hulls but as you point out the open cockpits on tris offer little protection. Even with a good dodger it is not like the dance floor on the Seawind.


There is also the issue of how weight degrades tris way more than cats (not that you can't overload a cat, just that it is way easier on a tri). Keep in mind while I am a coastal cruiser I tend to be away from the dock for weeks, or even months. This means significant water, provisions, and dive gear; not to mention my photography toys and quadcopter and hexcopter.


I have to say the F39 had enough space to meet my requirements and had significant load carrying capacity. Not to mention that it would reach 25 knots. But as the owner told me at 18-20 knots he wanted a crew of 5 to feel safe. Not saying he could not sail at 15 knots in many conditions, just that usually if the wind is enough to drive the boat that fast you really need to know what you are doing or you can get in trouble real fast. Even on a C31 it is hard to understand how powerful that boat can be.


Not trying to talk you into, or out of, a particular multihull. But to me a tri and a cat are very different creatures. The best choice depends on what you are looking for. Not sure I understand why you are comparing tris to 'comparable sized cats'. Sure a 30' tri costs less than a 30' cat as a rule of thumb; but the size is the only thing that is comparable. Even the F39 did not offer the space, storage, or load capacity of my Seawind 1000.

There is no doubt in my mind that my Seawind is easier to single hand than even a C31, and way easier to single hand than a F39. Another huge advantage of many cats is they have twin screws well amidships which means they can spin in their own length and docking with those twin screws almost seems like cheating compared to a single screw, sometimes an outboard hung off the stern of a tri.

For a fast, easy to sail boat that excels in good weather a tri is a great choice. Like I posted it is stupid fun to sail a good tri. There are huge upsides to a boat like this. But I doubt being on one at anchor for weeks or months at a time would be as comfortable as on a similar cost cat.

Bottom line is if you are able to define in detail what you are looking for your choice should be easy; and you can't go wrong with either a cat or a tri.

[Training Wheels]

Agree that if you want a boat with a dance floor and want to sail inside, get a cat. If you need a washer and dryer, dive tanks, compressor, generator, rib with big outboard, etc., to be “comfortable”, get a cat. Storage? We have 2 big storage compartments we call “floats”. In them, 10 fenders, 2 spinnakers, 2 inflatable paddle boards, paddles, wet suits, extra line, fishing poles, snorkeling gear, and I should really check what else!

True weight is important, but I doubt the load carrying capacity on that F-39 is much less, perhaps even more, than a Seawind 1000. Heck, the 1000’s I’ve seen out cruising look heavily overweight to me. If it’s true the owner of the 39 needs 5 crew, how much does 5 crew weigh? Water capacity? We have this nifty thing called a watermaker.

Speaking of crew, we have never had crew on our boat. I would venture to say our boat is easier to sail shorthanded than your Seawind. No dance floor to run across on a tack or jibe. All sail controls an easy reach from the helm. No blind spots, 360* visibility sitting in the cockpit. Do you want to be looking through a dodger or windows, or having to move to see around blind spots when you’re sailing at 16 knots? I don’t. Personally, I think the C-31 would be easier to single hand. Don’t know why the owner of the F-39 needs 5 crew, can’t imagine what they would all do, or where’d they sit, unless they’re rail meat. And here’s the thing, we’re cruising, so a lot times, if we’re not in a hurry, we’ll just roll out our jib and save the main(did I mention it’s very expensive) and we’ll still be passing the monos. We rarely push our boat, most the time in winds above 12knots, we sail under powered, loafing along at 10-12 knots.

We’ve been on ours for 8 years full time now, our 2nd year cruising, and quite “comfortable”, thank you. I believe we’d be “comfortable on a C-31, but that’s us. Don’t know why some people have to tell others what they need to be “comfortable”, as it is quite subjective.

Bottom line is sail on some boats, decide what YOU like to sail and what is important to YOU. You can’t go wrong with either a cat, tri, or mono. Yes, we’ve owned them all and don’t disparage any them, never understood why others do. It’s all about personal choice. [emoji3]

[Redreuben]

Trimarans are for sailors
Catamarans are for tourists.

In a nutshell tris have nowhere near the payload of a similar cat, but they sail oh so sweet.

[owly]

Originally Posted by Redreuben

Trimarans are for sailors
Catamarans are for tourists.

In a nutshell tris have nowhere near the payload of a similar cat, but they sail oh so sweet.

Sailors or Tourists..... That is just insulting. Is someone who criscrosses the oceans of the world a tourist.... I'd say yes. Is he tSailors can be divided into many groups with different priorities, and most of us have our feet in more than one group. It is not just racers, thrill seekers, and fat businessmen who bare boat charter once a year. The term "tourist" includes folks who circumnavigate or do the puddle jump or the ARC, and people who live aboard full time, moving from one place to the other when the notion takes them therefore not a sailor? I suspect that nearly every man with salt water in his veins gets a thrill out of sailing on the edge, speeding along passing everything in sight.



Is a man who lives on the sea with his family, exploring the world less of a "sailor" than someone who goes out on weekends for a thrill, and perhaps goes to the Caribbean once a year for a couple of weeks? Is it not a "sailor" who navigates through unfamiliar waters, and poorly charted reefs in whatever conditions prevail at the time? Is the man who sails to Polynesia through he reef strewn seas of the Tuamotus, Tonga and Fiji, south to the Bay of Islands across "storm alley", and across the Tasman Sea to Oz, up behind the Great Barrier Reef, through the Torres Straits, to Christmas Island and across the Indian Ocean via the Cocos Keeling islands, and eventually around the Horn of Africa where the Agulhas Current runs against the prevailing winds from the Southern Ocean making some of the highest seas on the planet, less of a sailor than someone who races around in a Corsair off the Atlantic coast on weekends?


Personally I would not ridicule these kinds of people.... they are probably some of the finest, and most courageous and skilled sailors......


For a long distance sailor, a catamaran offers a great deal. The lack of heeling reduces fatigue, the bridge deck cabin offers shelter with enough view to keep watch without exhausting your physical resources as being cold and wet does. The galley, weather up or down is far safer, with little risk of injury. The payload means you can carry what you need for an extended trip. At anchor, you can enjoy the view around you in any weather, the huge cockpit offers space to lounge, work on projects, entertain, etc. I'm sure I've only scratched the surface.


I really enjoy trimarans, and in fact am in the process of building a small one (15'), which I hope to have on the water this summer, but for voyaging, give me a well designed catamaran with reasonable bridge deck clearance and minimal windage. The problem is that the condo cat is the "norm", and it's absolutely not what I want.



H.W.

[Redreuben]

Just a bit of tongue in cheek humour Owly.

If you choose to take offence and write an essay about it thats your prerogative.
As far as I'm concerned I haven't ridiculed anyone I've just made a succinct observation and caricature of either platforms strengths and weaknesses, if you find that offensive so be it.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Redreuben

Trimarans are for sailors
Catamarans are for tourists.

In a nutshell tris have nowhere near the payload of a similar cat, but they sail oh so sweet.

Guess it depends on which tri and which catamaran.

[owly]

Originally Posted by smj

Guess it depends on which tri and which catamaran.

This is true....Many commercially built catamarans do not have published payloads... They are too ashamed to print the numbers, and many owner built cats are designed more for performance at the expense of payload, however there really are no trimarans I'm aware of that offer decent payload for length. A look at transoms of cats and tris loaded for a passage tells the story.........


H.W.

[Pegasos]

This ...

Originally Posted by LuvSun

you get a lot of seaworthy boat for your money on a tri.

.

... is why I ended up with a Searunner 37.


When I was boat shopping this old cruising tri was for me the optimum combination of comfort, performance, safety and cost. I've not regretted it at all. So far I've cruised from Brisbane to Bali and intend to continue on and on through SE Asia. The boat's been perfect.

[boatman61]

Want to know what life sailing a tri is like.. watch Lennys Big Atlantic Adventure where he crosses the Atlantic from the UK to the Caribe nonstop with Tony Bullimore on a 53ft tri.. unlikelier companions could be difficult to find..
I believe it can be viewed on Netflix.