Boat: 31' Corsair/Farrier(RIP) trimaran. Lauwersmeer Cruiser in Europe canals. 19' Lightning
Posts: 415
Kalakala
Seniormechanico, Your Mother Ship comment was classic. Its been a while since I laughed so hard. I fondly remember riding the Kalakala as a kid. Will it ever be resurrected? How do people think of this stuff. I work in a fire station and humor like this is practically non stop. I admire funny folk.
Pantera is also favorite, seen a picture of it in Lat 38. Some day I hope to run into her in our Salish Sea. Does its bridge deck slam? I seem to dwell on this a lot but I've experienced excessive amounts in the past. I suppose a bash up the west coast would be a good test. I was going to fly down to San Diego tomorrow to have a look at the F44 on Yachtworld but was told this morning there is an accepted offer on it. Oh well, something else will be along, just have to be patient...... Thank you for this nice thread.
The thread began discussing cruising designs, and the Hammerhead 54. Not many built? Imagine that, I've been aboard Juniper and they're a great boat but like the H54 it's huge! The sails are huge, the gear is huge, the loads are huge and the mooring and maintenance costs are huge. If your bank account is huge your a lucky guy but mine isn't. I own a performance Tri and you can't get more than a weeks provisions for 2 on it to save your life. The old guys had it right, Art Piver, Norm Cross, Jim Brown and Ed Horstman. Not fast boats, 10knts maybe, but room to live and stores for passagemaking. My boat will do 20knts, it's exhilarating! After about an hour it's not really that much fun, pucher factor is too high. Those classic designs below 40ft built of modern materials and techniques are a great option for a cruising life. 8.5:1 length to beam ratio will let you carry a load and do decent speed. Solid wings let you utilize a ton of space for berths and storage mid ships. I had a Piver 27 for 15yrs and at 10 knts it didn't pound, ballast in the bows of the amas steadied it at anchor in hurricane force winds. You couldn't begin to live on an F-31but what about a Nimble, Searunner 31, Tristar 31, or Cross 32? Just my 2 cents but cruising on a budget is still possible on a tri and for me prefered. Dave
ejlindahl.....Bob has never spoke about bridgedeck slamming. I believe the boat is so light and long on the WL it has good motion. He has a Hydraulic main sheet release that has a big red button in the cockpit and over his bunk. He has never had to use it in an emergency, but is there for good reasons.
DaveOnCudjoe.....you bring up many of the good points that convince me these are the best boat for the money for the average (me) guy. Perhaps what they have gained in the last 30 years or so in performance, has sacrificed accommodations and load carry, cost of materials and all. I have a 34' Searunner for many of the reasons you just brought up.
I guess what got me going was the "Ultimate" Trimaran cruiser. What would it be? For me I would not want something I could not singlehand. So the 50' would be about it on length, and it would have to be set up really well at that.
Forget the costs, moorage, maintenance and all that. Instead I picture 300 mile days on a thoroughbred. Just dreamin'....
Our boat below, I am very happy with it.....so this thread is the dreaming part.....
That Juniper is so pretty inside - but not too much room for anything but you, food and water. At least it seems that way to me, I have never seen it in person. It was for sale on Yachtworld for a long time, but I guess it finally found a new owner.
We saw an Atlantic Cat by Chris in Oriental this summer. It was built in Aluminum - very cool boat!!!
Chris
Chris White boat in Aluminum? Never heard of one actually built. Details from CWD website attached:
"Can I get an Atlantic Cat in Aluminum?
Metal has it's advantages and I have looked at this in detail. The major drawback to aluminum use in a cat is weight. Metal, anyway you slice it, adds considerable additional weight compared to epoxy composite. The typical 3mm aluminum hull plating with frames and stringers on the required interval weighs about 50% more per unit area than foam/glass/epoxy. THEN if you want a true equivalent you need to insulate the aluminum hull and deck for thermal and sound and then cover the insulation for looks which adds another big chunk of weight. If it is to be painted outside aluminum normally requires lots of fairing putty- still more weight. At the end of it all you have a boat that sinks unless you add special provisions- even more weight.
Of course, if you leave out most of the interior and equipment you can have a metal cat at reasonable weight."
__________________ Ship O' Fools
It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top. - HST
snip-
You couldn't begin to live on an F-31but what about a Nimble, Searunner 31, Tristar 31, or Cross 32?
snip-
Dave
FYI, I live on a F31 for at least half the year typically. Wife, me and a cat. :-)
__________________ Ship O' Fools
It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top. - HST
That Juniper is so pretty inside - but not too much room for anything but you, food and water. At least it seems that way to me, I have never seen it in person. It was for sale on Yachtworld for a long time, but I guess it finally found a new owner.
Chris
Best way to consider a cruising tri with reasonable performance is accommodations equal to a monohull that is 5 to 7 feet shorter.
Space does not seem to be the issue, as much as load carrying. Back to the reason not to build out of metals, and keep the boat light.
__________________ Ship O' Fools
It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top. - HST
That Juniper is so pretty inside - but not too much room for anything but you, food and water. At least it seems that way to me, I have never seen it in person. It was for sale on Yachtworld for a long time, but I guess it finally found a new owner.
Chris
The boat I believe you are referring to is "Carissa" It was the only other Juniper class Trimaran built. It has free standing masts. It also sported an inboard rudder as well as a small doghouse. Pics below. It is built like a piano, just buitiful..... So this is one of those "ultimate" Trimaran cruisers. What is not to like?
Here is another sweet ride.....another pure sailor from Dick Newick.
looks like marion harbor :-)
__________________ Ship O' Fools
It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top. - HST
Ship O'Fools, Where on earth do you keep cloths and food on your F-31 to live aboard? Is your gross weight still below 5450 lbs? I want to add a shelf below the cabin benches for food storage, have you done this? Dave
Here is a candidate for the "Ultimate Cruising Trimaran".....Dick Newick 50' or so in length.
I do not know if these shots were taken before they lost the rig. Look at the size of that stick! I read the rig alone was $200k. But we are not talking dollars and sense here, just dreaming.....it must be the cold winter I am not used to and I am entering into the dream state in the day....