Trimaran for a Single Hander... Why Not?

[ty.gregory]

The Price range will be around 100K usd. I will be sailing El Caribe (and surrounding areas). I will be living aboard full time.

This is a new idea for me. I was strongly leaning toward a catamaran, (Gemini), now I'm wavering. I've done a lot of searching for info, but wanted to check in here. There are so many things I haven't been able to discover. How do they do at anchor? Good tri sailing blogs out there? On average are they more expensive than cats or less in the 35ish foot models? They seem very exposed to the sun...

Really, any ideas or comments appreciated. I like their speed. I like their looks. I need your thoughts and/or your expertise.

[webejammin]

We have a 02 Gemini 105Mc and love it for single handing ,I especially like to be able to take naps while my wife sails solo very easyily and I sail while she is doing some project or yoga on the bow. I've seen some tri's that were older but in good condition not really built as comfortable as a Gemini like: single burths and doesn't sleep as many as a smaller cat. If you are looking for a 1st mate I know most women like a queen sized burth to shair. At anchorage having a big window to look out just by setting up in bed is really nice and see stars by looking up from bed is kewl. We like how well it sails with the 200% screecher and track for off the wind sailing with 2 nice roller furrlers for head sails.

[JJ77]

A while ago this searunner was for sale,it has been sold however,they were asking around 30K for it;
http://pcam.home.xs4all.nl/searunner/index.htm

It does give you some idea about the searunner although this particular one was a bit different and in wood.I loved the underwater window.

Oh and there is a long running thread here about searunners,which considering your budget would make a lot sense.the only problem I have is that I would have difficulty parking the boat in my region(the Netherlands)
,it would cost me quite a lot of money...

Cheers,
JJ

[barnakiel]

A nice little tri for a a nice West Indian vacation?

View Boat Photos - YachtWorld.com

Cheers,
b.

[ty.gregory]

Thank you for all your replys. I'm sure there are some tris with double berths, am I wrong? I have to get on a few and see first hand just how small the ones in my price range are.

[webejammin]

Originally Posted by ty.gregory

Thank you for all your replys. I'm sure there are some tris with double berths, am I wrong? I have to get on a few and see first hand just how small the ones in my price range are.

You might find one with a bigger than single burth if the main hull beam is 10 ft wide, then the bow berth will be almost as wide as a queen sized bed at one end and pointie at the bow end, beware of sharp toe nails . I'm sure you could find something in the 40 to 50 ft length and longer with desent sized beds.

[Mike w]

I decided on a Tri after owning a new 46' catamaran with all the bells and whistles. Realized I like the simplicity of sailing and love what a tri has to offer. I kind of feel like the guy from water world. I have the absolute minimum needed to feel comfortable. The boat is a Corsair 37'

Personal reasons for going this route are;

1) Much easier to clean
2) Sails way faster 2x usually
3) Just enough space for 4 people comfortably. And 10 for a day out.
4) Points very well
5) Lots of places to lounge around on the nets. Also can cover the whole boat so a lot of shade.
6) Little stainless to polish
7) Low draft 50cm, so can motor in to thin water.
8) Not cheap for what it is but still more than 1/2 the price of my last boat
9) Don't need costly repairs for all the extra. EG; No water heater Use a solar bag. Only thing that uses electricity is Fridge, navi, fans, lights. All run off solar and wind. No need to even plug in shore power.
10) Outboard 25hp engine, so less zinc work and and nothing dragging in the water. Also easy to maintain.
11) Enclose the cockpit so can night sail comfortably laying down on the cushions.
12) Low windage, behaves well during typhoons.
13) Can fold and use any marina crane to lift if need to paint or do work.
14) A great fishing platform for fishing around the reef. Low enough to bring fish up on the AMAs.
15) Can handle sails and docking easy with one person. Also can step off the boat much easier as the amas are just 2 feet above the dock.
16) Can launch my kites from the amas to kiteboard.
17) Nicer motion for this size, as carbon mast, low to the water and the amas.
19) 5-10 degree heal about the same as a cat when going through waves.
This was why I decided to go this route, but I am not living off the boat but feel I could easily. Some people want more in a boat. I could afford a 60' cat but chose not to go that route. Who knows I may change my mind as I get older. I am now 42.

My Motto in life is "Just enough and never too much" Works well for me.

[ty.gregory]

Mike w. Thank you for your answer. It was everything I wanted to hear, which scares me a tad. I will be single handing mostly, and the Corsair 37 makes my blood boil. I must admit that the rotating mast part confuses me as I have no idea what it does or why, but I’m sure it comes in handy somehow. I was interested to hear about a covering for the whole boat. This was something that worried me as most of the pics I see of tris don’t seem to have a bimini or much of any shade while sailing. I’m going to be in the tropics, so that is a big deal in my estimation.

Webejammin, about the double birth issue, it does seem like a possible short coming, but if the only remedy is to get a 50 foot tri, I guess I’ll have to make it work some how. As an aside, is it feasible to single hand a 50 foot tri? I, like Mike w, would like to keep things simple as possible. I don’t want to camp out, and I will be living on board, so I want some comfort, but having electric winches and in mast furling probably isn’t in the cards.

One more question, Tris are less expensive over-all than Cats, right?

Okay, two more questions… if they are less $$$, why are they???

Thanks again!

[JJ77]

Originally Posted by ty.gregory

. As an aside, is it feasible to single hand a 50 foot tri?


Thanks again!

Yes,this guy does(he's 74);

Trimaran sailing fast on solo passage - YouTube

You also may have a look at Henk de Velde journeys.From what I understand from his site
he is fixing up his boat in order to sell it.
http://www.henkdevelde.com/

It is a Chris White design,a tri of 54 feet.
No price yet but a while ago a the multihull company had a similar tri for sale,they were asking $200K

Most 50 something tris I have seen were above your 100 K budget although this one comes close;
TRIMARAN 53' for sale

@MikeW;good post!

Cheers,
JJ

[bobconnie]

There are many Tri's with double berths. Jim Brown 37ft Sea Runners have been done with 3 or even 4 double berths, not counting the Dinette which can be made to a queen berth. Ive sailed a couple of 41 ft tri's that had 3 queens, so theres plenty of big berths out there if ya want to look a little further. I love tri's myself, just havent found the one I want yet !

[Mike w]

Tris are not cheaper than cats. They are two totally different boats, and a Corsair 37 is $300,000 then extras add up to $50,000 more. Used maybe $200,000. Those Searunners look like good value often under $100,000

Hard to find the ideal tri unless you are looking for 50' plus. Under 50' there are few choices. I feel 35-45' is ideal for a tri if you have a centre cockpit and aft cabin. You can can have the perfect balance. A 50' tri is huge! Still beautiful boats to look at.

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by ty.gregory

One more question, Tris are less expensive over-all than Cats, right?

Okay, two more questions… if they are less $$$, why are they?

We had a 40' tri in the 80s but moved to a 45' cat when we took the kids cruising in 2001. Main reason was that most tris that size are home built, & I'm not a good enough surveyor to know where they may have taken shortcuts. But we LOVED the Cross tris. (And we're now correcting the defects of our professional builder!)

This may be the reason tris are cheaper - most are home built.

You're looking a bit smaller, & there are production tris your size.

I actually prefer a tri for some engineering aspects - like you have something under the mast besides air & being able to tension the headstay. Our plywood & polyester tri only weighed 5 tons (on 40') & would sail rings around Ocelot. But we were reefing at 15 knots & sweating at 25. That tri (a Piver AA - built in 1967 & still sailing in SF) had an 8' long double bed fwd, queens over the wings (with little privacy or headroom) & a small single aft. We had 7' headroom in the main salon, & lots of "visual space" over the 2 wing bunks & out their 2 big windows, but not much walking space below.

The shaped amas usually let the tris perform better. They can make them flat on the outside & curved on the inside so they give you lift. They're really cats with the mast on the windward ama, as the other ama is usually out of the water.

One big difference between cats & tris is space. Ocelot has LOTS of space, inside & out. Oriental Lady had visual space (so you didn't feel claustrophobic) and storage space (in the amas) but extremely little walking space. New tris are even worse, especially if you have open wing-decks. Best to go spend some time on both types to see how you feel.

A rotating mast gives you better, smoother airflow onto the mainsail. More efficient, but a bit too complicated (IMHO) for KIS considerations. And there has been a recent rash of rotating masts being lost in SE Asia.

[Mike Banks]

I love my old Piver--but I can see ways in which the design could have been improved. I suggest a Horstmann if you must have a tri. I think my old tub is a slug compared to many modern tris--but it is a cruising boat and very few monohulls pass me when I am cruising with a full cruising load.

Disadvantages of Trimarans--are the high costs of insurance--if you can get any at all. They also like to sail about when at anchor--thanks to the slot effect of the two spaces between the main hull and the amas. I always chuck a drogue over the stern, which helps a bit if is is too unsafe to anchor from stern as well as bow.

Trimarans have a lot of surface to paint. Paint= money.

They also feel very safe in rough conditions--which is why some sailors have come to grief in them. One has to reef according to the wind speed rather than the feeling of the boat. When the wind speed reaches twenty knots I reef--even if the boat seems to be handling it well.

Piver is a very comfortable boat at anchor, even in windward tide situations it is bearable. Sailing it is a dream except at very low speeds when trying to sail into a marina with a cross wind--three hulls and only one rudder--not easy. Padded fending poles and heaving lines are essential as is arranging someone to recieve them.

Insurance is the big killer for tri resale. Without it one can not enter a marina in the Land of Oz--and ferrying water and fuel means a large tender--etc etc. This means a restricted market and a price that reflects it..

"Do not buy a home-built trimaran!" is a good general rule, but there are always exceptions. If I was buying or building one I would check insurability first. If one can not enter a marina, carrying water and fuel, batteries etc in a dinghy, and on and off-loading them is a heck of a job in any sort of blow--and requires two peiople or a lot of ingenuity--

Lotsa Luck--

[HapaPops]

Check the Simpson Lahiana up the east coast - yacht world.

[ty.gregory]

Hapapopa, thank you. Great looking tri. At 43 feet, is it too big for me alone? Before you ask, no I do not have much sailing experience.