Ian McGehee has found yet another version of a standing board trimaran. This boat is an ingenious alteration of a standard kayak design from Chesapeake Light Craft.

There are a number of interesting things about this boat. But as Ian notes below, the sail rig (way over-sized for this kayak) is attached in a very creative manner. Simple. And brilliant. I’ve never seen it before … although I’m sure a few readers here have. Read the rest of this entry »

Russel Brown has just announced the sale of REV, a small sailing trimaran that Dick Newick designed and has personally enjoyed for over 10 years. Read the rest of this entry »

The PuddleCat Trimaran 12-footer looks like fun. It’s a small sailer designed and built by Roger Mann.

Roger’s description of this craft on his website is very concise, although I particularly love the first sentence: Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a little update on the Uffa 10 trimaran, which can also be seen here and here. You will see that it has a new rig (as shown in these new photos below). Read the rest of this entry »

The following info about Paddleboard trimarans comes to us (once again) from our friend Ian McGehee. In this case, the flat boards, which replace traditional hulls, allow for a very creative use of the trimaran concept.

But this again leads us to think about how such forms might lend themselves to sailing beach trimarans … or others. Read the rest of this entry »

I’d love to sail a trimaran along the shores of Greece. From what I’ve read, it’s one of the loveliest venues in the Mediterranean.

Andreas Kaltsas, a sailor who has really schooled himself about small tris, has designed one of his own. He is now building it with the intention of sailing along Greek shores … including many of its coastal islands. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is an inflatable trimaran with unique claw-wing sail. (It’s another interesting one our friend Ian McGehee has found on the web.)

In my opinion, the sail itself is definitely the the most interesting part of this craft. Ian corresponded with a sailor who uses a rig similar to this on his catboat, which he shares with us below. Read the rest of this entry »

The following info about a trimaran kiteboat concept comes from Ian McGehee. Ian has shared many interesting insights with us in the comments area on many posts in recent months. I always enjoy hearing from him.

At the moment, Ian has been focused on the possibility of using surfboards (or surfboard shapes) in place of traditional hull shapes on small trimarans. Ian writes here about someone else with the same idea. (Imagine, for example, the kite used with this prototype boat being replaced by a kite type of sail.) Read the rest of this entry »

Here are some great photos of the small trimarans used as fishing boats in Indonesia. They come from the Province of Bali to be more exact.

All of these photos and renderings come from sailor (and soon-to-be small tri boatbuilder) Joe Iosif Gross. Joe not only shares a little about these unique-looking fishing boats, but also his plans to build a brand new 12-foot trimaran for himself. Read the rest of this entry »

This is the 3rd post featuring Steve Curtiss’ unique small trimaran under development. If you haven’t read part 1 or part 2 yet then you should definitely do that in order to get the full benefit from this post.

As you’ll read in the below, this new boat is presently in the development stage. We’ll look for a follow up report after it’s built and then goes through its sea trials. The final verdict isn’t in on this design but it sure is inspiring to see the creative energy at work to create a new trimaran design such as this. Read the rest of this entry »

Sailor Brandon Walters is presently restoring a Cross 26 trimaran in California. He sent the following pics, along with some more photos of the boat from 1985 (he got these pics from the fellow who owned the boat at that time).

The boat’s name is POCO LOCO. Brandon said he is currently trying to figure out how to properly rig the new aluminum mast that he bought for it. So if anyone can offer him a helpful tip or two when it comes to stay lengths (or that sort of thing) then please post comments below. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is part 2 of the story about Steve Curtiss’ very unique small trimaran design. Steve began with a kayak fitted with double sails.

This is a summary of his experiments. I think you’re going to enjoy what he shares in the following. Thanks again for the article and photos Steve! Read the rest of this entry »

Ancient trimarans. How did they come about? How did the double outrigger canoe develop?

A few readers began an interesting topic thread at the end of the previous post that I thought might warrant a post of the links shared (with a few additions) during their discussion. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a story about 2 adventurers in a dugout trimaran canoe. Small tri friend Lenny shares this blogspot link with us (which is where all of the information below comes from). And while pics of the boat in full tri configuration are lacking, I’m hopeful their site will feature some more photos soon.

As you’ll see, there is a serious dose of pioneering spirit depicted here. So much so, somebody decided to build their own dugout and attach double outriggers. Read the rest of this entry »

Get ready to see a very unique small trimaran design. It’s really neat.

This comes to us from sailor (and mechanical engineer) Steve Curtiss. Steve certainly isn’t a newbie. In the past couple years he has written articles about a couple of prototypes that utilize twinsail rigs for kayak sailing. These were published in Messing About in Boats … and also a publication called the “TSCA Lost Coast Newsletter.” Read the rest of this entry »

Here are some very interesting discussions about hull shapes for multihulls. Long time multihull sailor Ian McGehee (who is a regular contributor at smalltrimarans with his insightful commentary) sent the following to me a few days ago. It’ll be of interest to readers here that enjoy technical information about hull shapes. Read the rest of this entry »

This post contains a great sailing report about Gypsy Wind, the Drifter 17 trimaran model we read about in an earlier post. The designer, builder and sailor, Mark Gumprecht, took some time to share a little about how he enjoyed her this past summer.

Mark provides us with a fun, breezy read about this 17-foot cabin cruiser. There are some pics and a YouTube Video at the very end. Thank you for sharing this with us Mark. Read the rest of this entry »

In this post, we once again hear from sailor and Wavelength 780 trimaran designer Bob Forster. The following photos and information come from Bob’s latest newsletter, which is available on his website at www.wavelengthmultihulls.com. Read the rest of this entry »

I interviewed Stephen Walker from Ahoy Boats, which serves as the UK’s Astus & Magnum trimarans distributor, for the first Small Trimarans book. And in the years since I’ve spoken to him, it appears his promotion of small tris is stronger than ever.

Stephen is an avid sailor and wealth of specialized knowledge. It’s hard to be bored when listening to him talk about trimarans. Read the rest of this entry »

Today we hear from sailor Ron Falkey and the story of his self-designed and self-built micro cruiser trimaran named Dalliance. Ron really gives us a great read here because he spares few details. Read the rest of this entry »

The folks at Solway Dory have been producing beautiful trimaran sailing canoes in recent years. I just found out about this model from small tri enthusiast Tom Williams (thanks Tom!). Read the rest of this entry »

We met sailor Mike Barnett and his Sailbird trimaran in a previous post. He asked me if I’d pass along the following information. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a great report from Frank Smoot about his new 24-foot trimaran LocoMotion. What he is able to do with so little money in so little time is, IMO, sort of amazing.

This is especially the case for us guys who seem to always take longer to do projects we thought would just take 1/4 of the time — and sometimes easily go over-budget too. (I certainly don’t have myself in mind here, nosireeeee, no way, it’s other guys I’m thinking of ;-) Read the rest of this entry »

If you’d ever like to go sailing & fishing in Florida — on a Seaclipper Trimaran no less — then you’re going to enjoy this post. It comes to us from Captain Michael Channell, who operates a very unique fishing charter down in the Sunshine State.

I tried not to envy Mike’s job when I first read this piece … but failed :-) Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a truly unique, custom-built aluminum trimaran. I received these photos from the owner, Alaric W., last week. He acquired this boat several years ago because he thought it would be a great way to get this out on the water with his family.

The boat came with a bill of sale but no title. This is one of the things that has kept Alaric from sailing it. (He is actually considering whether or not he should sell it to someone that really wants to get a lot of use from it). Read the rest of this entry »

The Challenger trimaran is best known as being a great boat for sailors with physical disabilities. But the fact is that this is a boat for everyone.

Anybody who sails this thing, especially in ideal conditions, describes it as a powerful adrenaline rush. And the fact that it’s still “legal” to enjoy such a thrill is … well, er … thrilling :-) Read the rest of this entry »

This post links to a short account of a father and his son having fun with their Windrider Tango trimaran … in the Australian outback.

Not exactly the place one would expect to find a sailing trimaran. But logic is at work here. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a great update from sailor and self-builder Jim Gallant, featuring the trimaran named BEST GUESS. Jim has added some more pics to his webpage, along with some fun, short videos.

Jim writes that BEST GUESS is now in his garage being retro-fitted with some improvements for Spring. He is adding “lifing planes to the amas” as one of the improvements and is looking forward to seeing how they’ll work. Read the rest of this entry »

A unique trimaran named SID is now sailing waters along the New Zealand coast. Sailor and self-boat builder Gary Baigent has done it again.

As you may recall, Gary designed and built another trimaran featured here called FLASH HARRY. SID is, in his words, meant to be a “big brother” to Flash Harry. Read the rest of this entry »

Sailor and self-boatbuilder Lenny H launched his new Seaclipper 24 trimaran this past September. He shares some glimpses of both its building and launching in the following YouTube video. (It’s a great one too … 7 minutes long).

For anyone that wants to know more about this sailboat (one of the newer small tri designs by John Marples), I’ve included links to previous posts about it here at smalltrimarans. Read the rest of this entry »

I received the following small trimaran renderings from a fellow named Ronaldo Fazanelli a couple of weeks ago. I’ve tried to find out some more info about this prospective design, including some more info about Ronaldo.

As of yet, however, I haven’t been able to find out anything more than what is posed here. I am suspecting the language barrier may be at work here. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a link to WetaMarine’s website, which published a story about the 2012 Weta trimaran Rally in New Zealand. Great pics. And a bonus video too!

According to Miranda, who works at WetaMarine, this event turned out to be “a very cruisy weekend.” One great thing about it was lots of newbies got coached on how to sail by getting onboard a Weta (Wow, what a great way to get introduced to sailing :-) Read the rest of this entry »

Here are some photos of three different small trimaran models featured at the 2012 Annapolis Boat show this past October. The first pic is of the new Motive Trimaran. The second photos feature the SeaRail Trimaran. And the third, much more comprehensive set of pics, feature the new Ultra Light 20 Trimaran from Warren Light Craft.

The Motive Trimaran model (featured in the first photo below) was designed by a French multihull sailor/designer, and built by Ted Warren using the same materials and techniques that he uses for his super-strong, yet light kayaks and new UL 20 trimaran model. Read the rest of this entry »

We first featured the Tricote trimaran on this post. This trailerable tri is another successful example of a “monohull to trimaran” conversion.

The pics below are linked to directly from the Tricote website. And there are many more great photos there too, so you are encouraged you to go there and peruse those pages. Read the rest of this entry »

I’d never heard about the Bazooka trimaran model until a couple weeks ago. Small tri sailor and enthusiast Graham Wheeler sent a whole bunch info about it. And today, we all get to enjoy what he shares in this post.

After seeing where Graham lives, and also seeing that he has been able to own a couple of very cool little boat over the past few years, I think I’ve finally learned how not be a little envious here! Well, okay, maybe this isn’t exactly true … but I’ll keep trying ;-) Read the rest of this entry »

Small trimaran sailor and enthusiast Fred F. sent me the following photos a few days ago. He is asking for the help of anyone in our little small tri community here to identify this particular model. At the moment, it’s a little mystery.

This baby is a true “dinghy.” Take a look at the photos Fred sent to us and see if you’ve ever seen it. I’ll post an “update” if someone identifies it … okay guys :-) Read the rest of this entry »

The following is a full, unedited article from Multihull designer Jim Brown, entitled, “TakeOff Window.” It’s officially about the lifelong work of Sam Bradfield in the area of hydrofoils.

More specifically, Jim writes about the 18-foot trimaran — OSPREY — that Sam spent the last years of his life making into an incredible hydrofoiler. The boat is a marvel of engineering and offers a sensation of flying over the water (according to those who’ve had a ride on it) that is absolutely amazing. Read the rest of this entry »

Small trimaran enthusiast Ian McGehee provides us with some fabulous information in this post. While it’s geared especially for anyone thinking about designing their own hulls at some point, I think many boat lovers (especially multihullers) are going to enjoy this material.

Every sailor can benefit from added understanding of hull shapes. Thinking about what is actually happening in order to drive a boat as it moves through the water is absolutely fascinating. And the links Ian provides below really get one’s imagination going. Read the rest of this entry »

Middle Eastern Weta Trimaran distributor Brett Hall discovered that small tris can be a great platform for fishing! The images and content are taken directly from Weta Marine’s article page. And the following short video is on YouTube.

Brett writes about the challenges of trying to fish while sailing other boats. Then he talks about his Weta experience. Just scroll down to begin reading … Read the rest of this entry »

Here are some photos of the mast raising for the first Nicky Cruz trimaran. As you can see, this boat is just about completed.

We last posted about this boat here. Read the rest of this entry »

Our small tri friend Stefano M. sent me links to the following YouTube videos. They feature a J-24 sailboat converted into full-blown trimaran.

The sailor(s) responsible for this appear to have done a fine job. Converting a monohull into a trimaran has certainly been done before. But it’s not for the faint of heart :-) Read the rest of this entry »

There is a new Strike 18 trimaran sailing in Texas. Even though this is the first sailboat the owner has built himself, it turned out great!

Just see for yourself :-) Read the rest of this entry »

Would you like to rent … or rent out … a small trimaran? Just thought I’d quickly pass this thought along because I found out about a website that makes it easy to do such things a couple of days ago.

Since we all know the world-wide-web can be used for purposes ranging from very diabolical to really neat, I thought I’d pass on one of the neat … Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a neat story, published by the Monterey Herald, about a restored Piver trimaran in Santa Cruz, CA. It was built in 1964 and then, shortly afterwards, put away in storage for 40 years.

Wow.

This trimaran was built by a (then) college kid in the space of a year. And it’s typical of the spirit of the times. Backyard builders built lots of multihulls during the 60s on into the early 70s. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a DIY tandem trimaran sailing in the gin clear waters of Florida. It’s another design / build creation from Frank Smoot, who you can always check out at www.diy-tris.com

I asked Frank if he could answer a few questions from me and he shares (quite generously) below. I decided to include the questions I asked Frank this time. It may help to broaden out the conversation a bit. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a new sailing podcast in town … er, I mean, on the net! Sailor David Anderson recently launched his own podcast series, which includes interviews with sailors sharing great information. You’ll find it all at his new website www.thesailingpodcast.com

David is based in Queensland, Australia (love the accent guys :-) His love of boats and sailing really comes through in the way he chats with his guests. Read the rest of this entry »

Multihull sailor (and trimaran enthusiast) Ian McGehee recently sent me the following links about the Catri 24 trimaran model now featured at Ahoy Boats in the UK. Many thanks too Ian :-)

Ahoy Boats is currently billed as the leading UK supplier of daysailing production multihulls. The Catri 24 concept page at Ahoy Boats states: Read the rest of this entry »

The UltraLight 20 trimaran is now available! Ted and Zac Warren (the father and son team at Warren Light Craft) have been working on this sailboat for awhile. And it’s a beauty.

As you can see from the photos and short YouTube video below, this craft is pure sailing machine. It’s designed to be a true 1-4 adult performance trimaran. Read the rest of this entry »

Haines Hunter Trailer Tramp Trimaran owner Mike Annear shares the background and following photos with us from a sailing trip to the famous “Shark Bay.” Shark Bay is located in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia and is designated as a World Heritage Site.

Look at the photos and ask yourself, “Can a guy have much more fun than this?”

I am a little envious at the moment. Not too much. Just an itty-bitty little bit. :-) Read the rest of this entry »

Sailor Klaas P shares about his Somersault 26 Trimaran in this post. There are some great photos too.

As you’ll see, he really has an extensive sailing background and has enjoyed several multihulls over the years. And his friend really knows how to bring a boat back into pristine condition too. Read the rest of this entry »