Recommend Research Material, Please

[DaveOnCudjoe]

I'm a timaran sailor but my introduction to multihulls was through Rudy Choy's "Catamarans Offshore". This book is long out of print but gives valuable insight into the developement of these craft. Perhaps a library or marina book swap. Few would know that the likes of James Arness(Matt Dillon of Gunsmoke) and Buddy Ebsen(Beverly Hillbillies' Jed Clampitt) were early pioneers in catamaran sailing. To spot the BS that salesmen spew it helps to know the factors that the early designers valued in craft developed in real world ocean passages. Though it pertains less to this discussion, Arthur Piver's" Trans Atlantic Trimaran" and "Trans Pacific Trimaran" and Ed Horstman's "Trimaran Sailing" all contain valuable information. Dave

[gwmort]

Thank you to everyone for the suggestions I have some good reading to look forward to this summer.

As an aside, are there books I should avoid because new developments in design may have made old conventional wisdom obsolete. It is my understanding the earliest cruising catamarans were not well received and critiques from that period may not reflect contemporary thought on the subject.

[Event_Horizon]

Originally Posted by FSMike

"The Cruising Multihull" by Chris White

^^^This

And I wouldn't read anything published before 1970.

If you are interested in the technical aspects read this:

Wetted surface area - approximate formulas - Boat Design Forums

Mike D give a fairly comprehensive ground up explanation of the technical differences between cat/mono/tri.