Steel Trimaran

[KnightSailor]

In San Diego, I got involved in many different situations regarding boats. In about 1988, I saw a 40ft Trimaran for sale for $10,000. I went out to look at is and it really was a 40ft Trimaran. It was steel. It was completely intact, with mast, rigging, sails etc. It was probably ready to sail out of the marina.
I bought that Trimaran, with a three day right of refusal. I took my Zodiac out to inspect it. I had previously done a tour of it, but this time I decided to inspect it in detail
The main hull was without any real surprises. There were Queen beds in the decks between the main hull and the amas. There was a stateroom in each ama. Great.
Then I got down into the bare hulls of the amas, This was an all steel boat. The steel hulls were supported by ½ in steel pipes every two feet, across the top, down one side, and up to the top again. IIRC, they were tack welded to the hull in several places. That was for the full length of the hull. Between the pipe and the hull, the place where the rounded side of the pipe met the hull there was, you guessed it, rust. That must have equated to some around 2000 feet of rust.
I went back to the owner and rescinded the purchase. He understood. Later, after talking to several people, I learned that anyone who owns a steel hull boat carries a bucket of Red Lead all day, everywhere.

[BillKny]

Even in a monohull, 40 feet is close to, but not quite, the lower limit where steel makes sense. The hull just get so HEAVY. The whole point of a tri or cat is to be LIGHT, and in smaller sizes (Like less that 100 feet!) a steel hull is just too heavy.

[Don C L]

Yeah I'd agree you dodged a bullet on that one. Steel trimaran sounds like an oxymoron.

[KnightSailor]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Yeah I'd agree you dodged a bullet on that one. Steel trimaran sounds like an oxymoron.

You are probably right. Many years later, after thinking about the rust problem, I came up what might have been a solution. It would have taken a LOT of work, but the solution probably would have been relatively permanent.
The solution was to wire brush all of the rust between the round side of the steel pipes, and the steel hull. Then primer and then paint the area with a semi-flexible tough paint. Then, after that was cured, fill the gap with a permanent slightly flexible electrometric filler. As long as that remained intact, there would be no further rust. After that, only flat surfaces would need maintenance.
The Trimaran had Queen births between the hull and the amas. There were nice staterooms in each ama, and the main hull was pretty nicely outfitted. It could have been a stationary and yet movable home. Of course the docking fees would have been extremely high if tied up. In San Diego, especially out on Harbor Island, there were quite a few boats, cats, and tri’s anchored out where people lived. What was rather humorous about that is that most were tied to engine blocks as anchors on the bottom.

[Roy M]

Ah yes, I remember her well. IRON BUTTERFLY was her name. I actually saw it last, many, many years ago in Two Harbors, Santa Catalina Island. The owner/builder was moored on a ball just aft of me. We didn't talk much.

[KnightSailor]

Originally Posted by Roy M

Ah yes, I remember her well. IRON BUTTERFLY was her name. I actually saw it last, many, many years ago in Two Harbors, Santa Catalina Island. The owner/builder was moored on a ball just aft of me. We didn't talk much.

Thank you. I don’t remember the name, but it sounds like the one.

[Sand crab]

There was a steel tri for sale for some time in the Carib. It looked pretty decent and probably would have sold sooner except for the steel part.