Question from a monohuller: 28 ft tri offshore?

[twinzerfan]

with enough planning and skill, I guess anything is possible...

The crossing of the Atlantic without compass by the twin brothers Emmanuel and Maximilien BERQUE on their outrigger canoe MICROMEGAS 3 / Adventure/Sail/Surf/Film/Video/Photo/Book

[Ocean Girl]

Multihulls can and DO sink. Watched one sink out in the pacific, though she did stay afloat long enough for rescue...

I love the brown tris, I've owned a Gemini Cat. The right multihull can go wherever a monohull can go, and more.

[Boatguy30]

Went all thru his when guy went missing in Piver multihull early this year from Key West. totally depends on hull materials and engines and equipment. Most wood multihulls won't sink. I think this is the type largely referred to on this thread. Most foam and glass boats withouts inboards and generators, etc will also float.

[tomtriad]

Your friend needs a reality check pronto. Just from you basic description of the vessel, this is not an ocean going trimaran. In fact, I would question it's seaworthiness in even the coastal environment of the west coast.

I've been sailing multihulls for 20 odd years, and specialize in offshore deliveries. I would not take a home built poorly maintained 28 foot trimaran offshore for any amount of money - for the sailing itinerary you describe it is likely to be a death trap.

Experienced sailors have taken well designed and maintained production fiberglass 31' tris offshore and never returned.

Your friend is pipe dreaming, and I would question what's in his pipe.

[ripplemagic]

Well here I am sitting in my 28 foot tri, feeling a little silly about saying I would sail it from here, Caravan, NW Australia to the east coast via the Southern Ocean.
I took off several days ago, to have various things break, and the boat thrown around at crazy and dangerous angles. The locals here are talking about 8 meter swells and 70 knot winds to the south. So I have changed my mind and now I will be taking the northern route. There is definitely a limit to what a boat like this can take.
The thing is, it is easy to talk. Doing it is something else.

[bizzy]

Was the little 26 ft mono with family of 4 called "dolphin of leigh" ? if so it left rarotonga for NZ about 3 weeks ago . been rough weather ever since

[mr-canada]

The boat looks like crap. Could just be dirt on the hull but to me it looks like she's been gutted and he got it for a steal if not free. It has a list to port, the pontoons dont sit evenly in the water even when she's in flat water, gutted, with no gear aboard. Its a Harris I learned. Dont know the year but from the looks of her must be pre 1970

Rigging havent seen up close, but if it's been cared for like the rest of the boat probably meathooks everywhere

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by mr-canada

The boat looks like crap. Could just be dirt on the hull but to me it looks like she's been gutted and he got it for a steal if not free. It has a list to port, the pontoons dont sit evenly in the water even when she's in flat water, gutted, with no gear aboard. Its a Harris I learned. Dont know the year but from the looks of her must be pre 1970

That's actually not so uncommon. They're often designed so under sail the windward ama is well clear of the water, which means they sometimes don't sit perfectly flat at rest. Especially when they're unloaded and floating high.

[SV Sea Monkey]

Originally Posted by ripplemagic

Well here I am sitting in my 28 foot tri, feeling a little silly about saying I would sail it from here, Caravan, NW Australia to the east coast via the Southern Ocean. I took off several days ago, to have various things break, and the boat thrown around at crazy and dangerous angles. The locals here are talking about 8 meter swells and 70 knot winds to the south. So I have changed my mind and now I will be taking the northern route. There is definitely a limit to what a boat like this can take. The thing is, it is easy to talk. Doing it is something else.

...and a limit to what the skipper/crew can take? There's no shame in changing plans so you can actually enjoy a trip. I'm a monohuller, but I have a good friend who switched to an F28 tri several years ago. He put a lot of practice and preparation into it, then decided to take it from Charleston, SC to Turks & Caicos so he could enjoy the slow cruise back to FL. he learned a lot along the way, and wrote about the trip and some of his lessons learned in the article on p.57: http://www.adventureworldmagazine.co...13/issue20.pdf

Note: His trip was well outside the comfort zone of many; I thought I would share it because some of his ideas can be useful on any boat.