Roger Simpson Trimaran, Liahona. Looking for inforation on the designer and the model

[birdsey]

I am looking at a Roger Simpson Designed, Liahona model. 43'LOA, 31' BEAM, 3' draft board up.

I can find very little about Simpson or the model on the internet. Any information or links to info would be greatly appreciated!

There is one for sale in Maine and this link which has a lot of good info:

https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/s...ruising.54502/

[Sand crab]

They say it's a 26.6' beam and that the pics are from 2007. Any new pics?

[birdsey]

The one I am looking at is a 31' beam. There are a few nice photos of the design on Google pictures. The top two rows on this link and several in the third row are the same model. Copy and paste:

https://www.google.com/search?q=roge...wjEn-qFieveAhW
k4IMKHcYOAv8Q_AUIDygC&biw=1197&bih=666

[Training Wheels]

We used a crane in Florida to haul our boat for a survey. It wasn’t that expensive. As an ex crane guy, the key is to find a boatyard that you can get close to the land, and the crane can get close to the water. The further away you are, the bigger the crane you have to use.

[catsketcher]

Roger Simpson was a well respected designer who drew a lot of boats in the 80s and 90s. His boats were designed for amateur builders and some were picked up by production builders - Cloud 9, Cloud 10, Formula 1.

There were quite a few Liahona's built in Australia. Some were strip cedar. I knew of two. The owners liked them a lot. One was sold as is now just up the lake where the owners keep it nicely.

Liahonas are usually WEST system or foam and so don't have much of a problem with rot. They are pretty big on the inside and have lots of weight carrying capacity compared to most 40ft tris. They are not especially fast and I am not sure about the stern sections which I think turn in a bit tightly and cause some turbulence. I would probably stick another 3-5 ft on the main hull stern and make a nice swimming platform. This would give you somewhere to get out of the dinghy and clean up the waterlines aft. A Liahona 43 had these changes made in the 90s - it was called Tevake and made some big voyages.

cheers

Phil

[birdsey]

Very informative as the builder of the one I am looking at added 3' in length after writing Simpson about it. Your answer now makes more sense of that mod. This builder added the space into the aft berth. He also widened the beam to 31' instead of the std 26.6'. I assume that was for additional stability to prevent capsizing.

[BigBeakie]

I helped build a 15 meter Simpson cat with the owner in the mid 80's, and can concur with the transom hull shapes, had some drag in light winds. Roger was a naval architect, but didn't get that aspect quite right.

We also beefed up the bridgedeck-champher panel join as his was a pretty light laminate in that high load area, that some owners had trouble with cracks there.

Other than that, simple design, simple build process in Western Red with System 3 gave a pretty strong boat.

We went through horrendous seas in that cat on the way back from Lord Howe Is. so it took a pounding with no ill effects, other than our nerves after 3 days and nights.

[bushytales]

Hi...my name is Jeff Bush. Way back in 1986/7 I bought the original Liahona (the boat was named that!) from Roger Simpson who had built her himself in Brisbane Australia. I owned it for about 3 years and sailed the Great Barrier Reef in her. She was a comfortable yacht - not terribly fast - but very comfortable.
I eventually sold her and bought a Windspeed Catamaran from Geoff Cruse - also of Brisbane.
If I can answer any questions about her I will try to help. Appreciate that was 30 years ago!!
Cheersfrom Jeff B

[birdsey]

Hi Jeff,

My name is Garth Birdsey and I am considering buying a Liahona that was started in 1987 and worked on till last year when the owner passed away before finishing her. She has been built with an incredible amount of craftsmanship using the best materials. The hulls and much of the interior is cold moulded African Mahogany which i both very strong and beautiful.

I see in many of the design threads that the transom on the original Liahona design creeated a fair abmount of turbulance that has been corrected on latter builds by adding 3'length in tha aft center hull and tapered more. Had you heard this and was yours the standard dimensions of 43' long and 26.6 wide?

I have much of the chainplates and fittings for the rigging but no diagram where to place them. Do you know where I might be able to find some guidance?

I am going to send you a private message so you can email me ditectly if you prefer.
Thank you very much

Garth Birdsey

[Mike Banks]

Roger is still using oxygen, but as far as I know no longer designs vessels full time--maybe not even part time--but his designs are available in Australia I think from Boatcraft--but I am not certain.

The Liahona trimaran as designed originally was one of the best trimaran designs around. I do not think many of them were made--but I knew Mr Simpson briefly when he was designing on an entirely different matter.

I think he designed the Liahona for his own personal use. There are stories of one of them having survived without damage in a hurricane that sunk several other vessels.

I always wanted one--but I shy right away from amendments to original designs.

Trimarans probably have more stresses imparted to them in a seaway than do many other types of hulls.. It is up to you of course--in reasonable weather it should be great. If you are going to cross oceans in it you may need to have that hull and bulkhead system properly examined by a marine engineer.

In Australia it is damn near impossible to get insurance on trimarans. and without insurance you can not enter a marina. Maybe it is more intelligently provided in America--but a variant on a design may be hard to insure.

.

[Sand crab]

I had full coverage on my tri in Washington State with Boat US without a survey and for stated value. It is not an issue here. It took 20 minutes on the phone so very easy.

[longjonsilver]

Originally Posted by birdsey

My name is Garth Birdsey and I am considering buying a Liahona that was started in 1987 and worked on till last year when the owner passed away before finishing her. She has been built with an incredible amount of craftsmanship using the best materials. The hulls and much of the interior is cold moulded African Mahogany which i both very strong and beautiful.

Is that the tri that was listed here, post #2365: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...87193-158.html

if so, i'm glad someone is going to take care of her. She is too nice to scrap.

jon

[birdsey]

I AM getting this Roger Simpson Liahona. I am renaming her "Wilsons Legacy" in honor of Wilson Lobao who worked on her for 32 years before passing away in a tragic and untimely accident.

I am looking forward to picking up where Wilson left off. The hull only needs minor finishing touches, the deck plates bow roller, cleats, lights and such. The interior fit out out and electrical systems will take some time.

She is lying in the backyard of Wilsons old home in Peabody MA. She will need a 100 ton crane to lift her over some VERY tall trees, a specialized Brownell Systems hydraulic trailer, and the permits and requirements to move a 31' wide boat 10 miles to the nearest ocean accessible water.

[longjonsilver]

Congradulations and blessings on your endeavour. i am very happy that someone is taking up the baton, and she is not going to be cut apart. Good choice for a name by the way. Mebbie i'll see ya out there.
jon

[Dymaxion]

Any updates to share?