Comments for Small Trimarans

Comment on Completely Different Approach to a Standing Board Trimaran by Steve

Steve — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:18:27 +0000

I’ve had a few experiences with trying standup sailing on small narrow or multihulled boats, and a fixed mast rig like this example behaves a lot different from a free sail (windsurfer). On the fixed mast rig, the standing sailor represents significant weight up high above the waterline, and the boat wants to tip at every gust, so the control thing gets a little squirrely to say the least. A windsurfer has the mast tilted to windward and gusts do not get transmitted directly to the hull. Lots of the small puffs and bumps get damped out through the windsurfer’s arms and legs.
That being said, standup sailing of a boat like this might be fun if the sailor can stay upright and in the right position. I’m a little concerned about where he/she will go to bail out if/when things get out of control, which they definitely will once in a while in higher winds. A suggestion might be to have large padded or flexible surfaces for the sailor to move around on for balance, and some planned crash strategies.

Comment on Completely Different Approach to a Standing Board Trimaran by ian

ian — Sat, 18 May 2013 06:42:02 +0000

I’m really curious how the whole stand up aspect works as the wind picks up and the boat heels- a lot of the balance input in standard windsurfing comes from the rider being able to hang off the boom to windward in a pretty stable orientation no matter what the board is doing, even when airborne.

This boat trades off a lot of that hiking ability for the stability of a standing rig, along with losing any lift (and stability) benefits of tilting the sail to windward and it seems like it might be difficult to balance without the benefit of hanging off the boom, while still having to stand there holding it in one place where you have enough leverage.

It also seems like as it heads more off the wind you would have to walk forward as you held the moving boom, which would trim the bow down just when you’d want the opposite…and you can’t move fore/aft much without sail trim being affected so any counteracting movement might be difficult.

Probably a lot of fun in the kinds of conditions he designed it for, with a pretty definite limit to how hard you can push it before it stops being fun…kind of reminds me of the sailing kayak version of an antique car with a huge V-8 in it, the kind that can peel its undersized tires off or might just fold up if you hit the gas too hard.

What might also be really fun is this powerful rig with a very minimal hull combo, but with a wider athwartships deck area (like a solid trampoline) that you could move around on while standing, along with a simple mainsheet system that you could hold and adjust on the fly as you danced around trimming the hulls over/through the chop, more like traditional surfing than a windsurfer.

You could stand/move wherever you needed to for balance and quick hull trim and still be able to do sail trim without affecting either, and it would probably be great exercise and could be pushed pretty hard with some practice.

Comment on Completely Different Approach to a Standing Board Trimaran by Small Tri Guy

Small Tri Guy — Sat, 18 May 2013 01:41:32 +0000

Hi Wade,
You can see the very modest sail that would usually go on this boat at this link: http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/boat-plans/sailboat-plans/clc-sailrig-kayak-canoe-sailing-rig.html

Comment on Completely Different Approach to a Standing Board Trimaran by Wade Tarzia

Wade Tarzia — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:48:51 +0000

Pretty! But the amas seem as though they could catch a lot of water when the boat is driven hard.

Comment on Classic Supernova Trimaran Brochure and Pictures by John Gibler

John Gibler — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:41:10 +0000

Dear Supernopva lovers

I hope you will get benefit from the manual. I know that some people have asked for it.
Here is a little contest: (no prize to win though) Can you explain why the sailnumbering on the Elvstrøm sails for the Supernova are letters and placed vertical ??

Best regards
John Gibler

Comment on Classic Supernova Trimaran Brochure and Pictures by Small Tri Guy

Small Tri Guy — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:36:28 +0000

Hi John,
Thanks so much for your willingness to share the manual with all of us. Is there any way that you can send me the pdf directly? Perhaps via email here? Let me know. If not, then we’ll have to think about some website that will accept uploads (someplace that would allow you to do that and then send me a download link). There is nowhere for you to do any direct uploads on smalltrimarans.com

Let me know what you think. I will await your reply. And thanks again for sharing material like this with the small tri community!

Comment on Classic Supernova Trimaran Brochure and Pictures by John Gibler

John Gibler — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:03:59 +0000

Hello

I am from Denmark and I got hold of the missing instruction manual for the Supernova.
Please tell me how I can upload it to your website.

Best regards John Gibler

Comment on Uffa 10 Trimaran with a New Rig by Luca Z

Luca Z — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:34:02 +0000

a lovely tiny tri

Comment on Uffa 10 Trimaran with a New Rig by Small Tri Guy

Small Tri Guy — Mon, 06 May 2013 20:05:25 +0000

Many Europeans have “small boating communities” woven into their cultures. It’s really neat to see!

Comment on Uffa 10 Trimaran with a New Rig by Steve

Steve — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:19:51 +0000

I went to the Diciepiedi Class site and looked at all the trimaran pics. Lots of interesting design ideas and great to see everybody having fun in small boats!