With Robert’s permission, I am re-printing the account (and photos) of this boat’s launch, which was written by, Neil Holzapfel, who is the owner/sailor. (Thanks for letting us share this with our readers Robert & Neil!)

By the way, I noticed in this newsletter that building plans for the Wavelength tri are being sold at a discount until June 30th, 2012. So anyone interested should check that out asap. Click here to visit Robert Wavelength 780 trimaran website for more information.

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The WAVELENGTH 780 Trimaran “Getting to know her” Cruise
by Neil Holzapfel

With the weather forecast at 15 to 20 knots and showers, it was not ideal conditions for a first time sail in the new boat. All the last minute jobs were completed however and she was tied down to the trailer and ready to go, so on Tuesday 27th March 2012 I towed my Wavelength 780 down to the public boat ramp at Manly.

She started her life for me in February 2008 when I acquired the half made floats, timber and some resin from the previous builder who was unable to continue his project due to ill health. Now, four years down the track, she was ready to sail. She was first launched on 9th January 2012 without her rig to test out the trailer launching, float folding and motor performance. All went O.K.

As for the name, I could not think of anything that suited me that I hadn’t seenon another boat, so she is named “XD9”, which is the registered fire brand that I put on my cattle. At least nobody else can use the name!

It takes me a while to stand the fixed rig mast which is fitted with a Snapfurl 700 jib furling system. Although the foil is P.V.C., the forestay needs to be moved back down the mast and reattached for raising the mast. This takes a little extra work loosening ties and clambering up and down the boat trailer ladder.

Wavelength 780 trimaran prior to mast and rigging setup

Bob (the designer) came down to the ramp to join me for the first sail. We launched her and motored to the nearby pontoon. The floats were folded out and locked down before attaching the stays. Then the boom, sail-cover bag with lazy jacks and mainsail were hoisted out of the cabin and fitted to the mast. I make use of the permanent topping lift for this job.

The small jib of 10.8 sq. m. was hoisted up the foil and furled. After a few final checks, we motored out of the harbour. As I will not be racing her, Bob has designed a cruising rig for me that was a bit smaller than the standard rotating rig.

Although it was a bit windy, we put up the full main together with the small jib. She handled the conditions quite comfortably. We spent some time tacking and reaching around in Waterloo Bay before heading over to the shelter of King Island for some lunch. I furled the jib. Then the main, which has batten cars, was dropped effortlessly into its boom cover sling, before dropping the anchor – job done.

We wanted to see how she handled the rougher conditions outside the islands in the main part of the Bay, so we put a reef in the main using the robust Cunningham system I have designed using turning blocks and a clutch fitted on the base of the mast. All the sail hoisting is managed from the mast, old cruising style. The anchor was lifted, the jib unfurled and we were off again. This time there was a bit more spray flying about, but with the reduced rig she felt fine and still showed a good turn of speed.

It was time to take Bob back to Manly so we headed back in. Going downwind and almost at the entrance leads, we were overtaken by a black rain squall. An experimental downwind drop of the main with the free moving batten cars was less than successful in the conditions, so we did the traditional ‘round up’ to quickly douse the main. The jib on its furler was easy.

I think Bob was satisfied with the way she handled and so was I, with no nasty surprises!

I planned to stay out for a few more days to get to know her. After dropping off Bob, I headed out again with only the jib unfurled and sailed slowly over to the protection of St Helena Island anchorage. I put a CD on the new sound system, sorted out the galley and the bunk and relaxed in the cockpit watching the sun go down. In her cosy little cabin, it felt
good to be back in cruising mode again!

In the event, it was not a good overnight anchorage as the wind shifted to the south west during the night setting up a southerly chop that was a bit uncomfortable. I decided to head south towards Peel Island before sun up and enjoyed a good sail.

With the approach of a passing squall, I put a reef in the main, then it was back to full main again as the wind came around to a light south easter. We travelled south along the western side of Peel Island before rounding it to the east and making for the Myora anchorage off Stradbroke Island. I arrived just as a strong south-easterly wind started to blow. Comfortably anchored, I settled in for the day reading, writing and getting the feel of simply being on my new boat.

The autohelm works well and I find it quite easy to reef the main while under way. She steers well on all points of sail and can even be tacked single handed without the autohelm engaged. Going to windward she will even steer herself for a short time with no one at the helm.

Early Thursday morning before the wind got up too much, I went for a sail up the Rainbow Channel. By the time we got to Amity, the squalls were rolling across from the island, so we turned around, doused the sails and headed back to the One Mile under motor, keeping close to the banks off Straddie. I did get a bit too close at one spot as the rudder hit bottom. This was not a problem as my ‘spear gun rubber release system’ worked well.

The boat has a Tohatsu 9.8 H.P. two stroke ultra long leg outboard with the prop as deep as the skeg. This pushed her along easily at five to six knots into strong headwinds with no sign of cavitation when I pushed her through a heavy wind against tide chop off Myora light.

That afternoon, as the tide came in, I nosed her up onto a firm sandy flat near the jetty, put a stern anchor out to hold her position and let her dry out.

I have applied a mixture of powdered copper and epoxy to the bottom to give a good hard protective coat for just these situations, as I like to sit on the bottom if I can. For me, this opens up a lot more opportunities to get into shelter with a small boat while cruising.

When the tide dropped, she sat quite level and I was able to move around inside the cabin and get on and off the stern without her tipping on her side. She would lie over to one side if weight were put on that float. As I did not have a dinghy with me, this was the first time I was able to get off the boat since I left, but had not felt confined at all. I went for a walk around Dunwich in the afternoon and then when the tide came in and she floated again, I moved her out to a deeper water anchorage for an early start in the morning. Friday morning – time to head for home.

I motored and sailed across to the Lazaret Gutter on the north side of Peel Island for breakfast and spent some time reading waiting for the tide to turn. I didn’t want to be at the ramp at low water. I had plenty of time.

On the way back to Manly I was doing five knots under the jib alone in the fresh south wester, so that was good enough for me. I managed to dock the boat at the pontoon by myself in the freshening breeze. The sails were packed away and the floats folded. I then floated her from the pontoon to the nearby adjacent ramp using long lines to guide her onto the trailer before retrieving her from the water.

The mast was lowered and the headsail furler secured to it. Finally we were ready to return home where the boat had a good wash down and went back into the shed. I have listed a few small jobs to do before we are back on the water again – soon!

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The following YouTube video is featured at Robert Forster’s Wavelength 780 trimaran website …

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He uses his ingenuity to build a low-cost one, of course!

I first heard about these boats from sailor Michel Le Bouquin, who purchased the first “Tricote” from Fabien Foucaud (the former monohuller), who built it. Fabien then went on to build another, slightly larger sailboat, for himself and his family to enjoy.

I got both of them to share a little (below) about their boats. Fabien shares first … and then Michel (thanks guys … it’s great contributions like this that make smalltrimarans.com fun :-)

Be sure to check out Fabien’s website — http://www.tricote.fr — where he shares a lot more photos, along with the story of his tris too (in French). And don’t miss the short video featuring this boat at the end.

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The Newest Tricote Trimaran
by Fabien Foucaud

I’m from Arcachon, a beautiful lagoon on the west coast of France. I’ve sailed from time I was very young.

I build a 36ft sailboat in steel at the beginning in 2001 and traveled around to different countries for a few years.

The idea for building a small trimaran came as the result of seeing a Dragonfly 800 and Corsair 24 trimarans sailing. It was an eyeopener. I thought, “Why a lot of weight in the keel? It’s a lot of water to move and a lot of power is necessary in the sails. And I need a lot of sails to move a lot of weight in the keel. It’s a bad circle!”

It was also boring to sail the monohull … with the low speed of my 10000Kg boat, and his 5 knots max. It was also difficult to find a place in harbours, with added cost too.

I saw that a trimaran could be a light boat, simple, but stable with its 3 hulls. This is THE solution. And with folding hulls, it could be easy to carry on the road.

So I came back to France and sold my heavy steel boat. In 2009, I built a small trimaran using a Maraudeur (16ft) hull, along with the hulls of a Hobie Cat 14 that I found at very low cost.

This “blitz” worked very well. It was easy to mount and put on the water. It was also easy to use and had relatively good performance.

I later sold this boat (to Michel) and then built a second trimaran last year. This one uses a monohull center … but with better quality and reflex. The hull I chose came from a Lanaverre 590 (20ft x 6ft8).

I cut out the keel and built a structure for the arms. Then I added 2 hulls from a Hobie Cat 16, a wing mast, new mainsail and jib.

It was big work fabricating the folding system … but finally, the Tricote 2 was born.

Fabien's Newer and Larger Tricote Trimaran Sailboat

I enjoyed sailing it this past winter (10 knots on average). New features include a tall fin, trampolines, and some other little modifications.

I’ve done some sailing this spring too and we’re very happy in this boat with our small trimaran.

It’s 20ft in length, weighs about 600 Kg, and cost less than 6000 euros (about $7000$).

The boat has good performance and it takes just 1 hour to prepare it from the road to the water. It features a bed for 2 persons, and 2 beds for 1 person each. And I can store it in my garden for Free. What else is needed???

My goal isn’t commercial, only pleasure … just sailing with my family.

My Tricote Trimaran website is an answer to all people who want to know more on this project … and how a small trimaran, based on a monohull, can be built at low cost.

– Fabien Foucaud

The First Tricote Trimaran
by Michel Le Bouquin

I’ve been sailing for 4 years (except for 15 days cruising on a 33 feet boat — in 1976!)

In 2008, I bought a second-hand (or even third or tenth-hand) Maraudeur. It was 15 feet long, trailerable, and had a little cabin and a pivoting keel. I trained myself to sail … mainly on a little lake near my place round Paris.

In the spring 2011 I discovered the website www.Tricote.fr showing a trimaran built out of a Maraudeur. It seemed to go well.

The First Tricote Trimaran -- Now Sailed by Michel

Fabien had built a 33 feet steel monohull and sailed for one year around the Mediterannean sea. When he came back, being short of money (he tells it on the site), he decided to build a small, very cheap trimaran (he lives near by the sea) starting from an old monohull.

He choose the Maraudeur for its rating between length and width. So he had a complete “habitable” tri for less than 2000 euros.

The Maraudeur is quite sporty. It leans easily … and even more ( I had to swim once in December!) I couldn’t imagine sailing on the sea with it, so I decided to contact Fabien in order to try his Tricote.

Tricote stands for TRImaran COTier … it also means knitting) on the “Bassin d’Arcachon” near Bordeaux.

I got enthusiastic with the boat, which I found to be safer, cooler, faster and really corresponded to my search for a stable, little habitable boat that could take me and my younger son for some coastal camping.

I decided to do the same with my Maraudeur, following Fabien’s prescriptions: take away the keel and the ballast, put two steel girders crossing the boat, add pieces of steel — articulated in order to fold — in order to attach two Hobie Cat 14 hulls.

I finshed it in the summer 2011, but made some mistakes … mainly in the articulation. It doesn’t fold as it should. That’s why I bought the prototype Tricote when Fabien sold it in November, as he wanted to build another tri with the same principles, except bigger.

My new boat is now called TRicotin (for Tricote 1).

Fabien doesn’t want to make a living building these boats; he works as a “maritime expert”. He just wants to have a boat of his own and he found the first one too little since he had a baby in 2011.

– Michel Le Bouquin

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In the full audio interview (in MP3) from which this clip is taken, Frank talks about some of the techniques that he uses to create boats that are both lightweight and strong … yet inexpensive (as compared to typical boatbuilding costs).

The complete interview is a part of the series entitled, Multihull Conversations with Jim Brown.

You can either download this small trimaran audio clip in mp3 format in this post at OutRigMedia.com or view the video link (below) …

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Wait until you read about how this new small trimaran handles :-) Some new photos of the hull are included below also.

You’ll be able to hear Frank talk with Jim Brown a little about this hull re-design next week in an audio clip. The entire interview is now a part of the “Multihull Conversations with Jim Brown” series.

He wrote this short article especially for us guys here at smalltrimarans.com too. Thanks Frank!

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Folding Tri: Major Hull Redesign
By Frank Smoot (AKA “The DIY-Tri-Guy”)

The original design for my 16′ folding tri (as seen in the “Can Your Trimaran Do This?” video) had a double-ended hull. Why? Just as an experiment, really. Since all my other tris all have had transoms, I wanted to see how a “pointy” rear end would sail.

Well, it had some pretty big drawbacks. First problem was that it “hobby-horsed” in any kind of waves. I guess you’d call it “pitching.” Not comfortable, and probably hurt performance as well. Second, the rear end tended to squat at higher speeds, due to lack of flotation aft to help keep the bow down.

But the biggest problem was the helm. That double-ended hull was almost impossible to get balanced. At first it had a huge amount of weather helm. So I added a skeg, but that gave me a ton of lee helm. I spent a LOT of time trying to trim that skeg so the helm was balanced. Turns out that just 10 square inches of skeg area was enough to cause either lee helm or weather helm. That’s WAY too sensitive! And for some reason, the rudder always requited a ton of effort.

So back to the drawing board, and now I knew just the kind of hull I wanted. My first “real” tri (No Commotion) had a fairly sharp V-hull with a deep forefoot and an average dihedral of 30-35 degrees, a moderate transom, and just 2″ of rocker. It was smooth, fast, very dry, and tracked like a train. But it didn’t like to come about.

My wife Laura’s tri, on the other hand, had a “5-piece hull” — a flat bottom, two 45-degree bilge panels, also 2″ of rocker, a moderate transom, and vertical sides. It was also quick and would turn on a dime, but wouldn’t track at all unless the leeboard was down, and tended to pound just a bit in waves. Fast in light air, but not good in very shallow water.

The solution, I believed, was a shallower V-hull — something that was a blend of the best characteristics of Laura’s boat and No Commotion. This new hull got a moderate transom, slightly angled sides, and an average dihedral of 20-25 degrees. I bumped up the rocker to 3 ½ “, just to see what would happen.

New Hull Redesign on a DIY Trimaran Hull

Conclusion: If there is a “perfect” shape for a non-tortured plywood hull for a small tri, this new one has got to be pretty close. At least it’s as close as I have gotten. This hull is smooth sailing, quiet, fast, and dry. It doesn’t pound in waves, and is quick in light air.

Best of all, it handles beautifully. It points better than any of the other boats, and gybes with zero drama. You can literally sail continuous figure eights or 360 degree circles in any direction or wind speed — the kind of handling I really hadn’t thought possible in a small tri. This boat puts a definite smile on my face!

Of course, the folding amas and E-Z-Up mast & sail rig also help quite a bit. Being able to start sailing less than 5 minutes after I get to the beach is a total delight, especially when I think about the countless hours I’ve spent assembling earlier tris after taking the hulls, amas, akas, etc. off the trailer. I finally have the 16′ tri I always wanted. Now if I could just find a professional sail maker to make me a “real” sail in place of that white hunk of stretchy white polytarp I’m currently using…

Click here to read more about Frank’s DIY Trimarans at his website.

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Sailor and builder, Aurelio P., should be thrilled that it’s now “pay back time” for all the hard work he put into his boat. (Congratulations Aurelio :-)

He shares the following short report with us, in addition to the new photos …

Ciao Joe,

– Aurelio

Uffa 10 Trimaran Demounted on Its Trailer

Uffa 10 Trimaran Finally on the Water

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“This summer, I plan to build my next small trimaran — my Strike 15. The long awaited “geriatric dinghy”. I attach a provisional study plan, please feel free to post it on your site. I have the rig already, I just need 6 sheets of plywood and I’m all set.

You’ll see the outriggers fold forward, not back (as on the Dragonfly and DIY-Tri-Guy trimarans) as I think that is the more logical way to do it. The main hull drawings are just about complete, next I have to work on the outriggers.”

As per Richard’s permission, I’ve done just that (see the pdf link below). And if you’re not familiar with the Strike trimaran series, you can see how this one fits into the mix by checking out the following on Richard’s “New Designs” page at his website:

“The Strike 15, however, is a complete design and doesn’t use parts from other boats. As on the 16 and 18 the main hull is hard chine while the outriggers are stitch and glue tortured ply. Although it is light enough (just) to cartop (under 140kgs all up), trailering (folded beam is only 2m, 6′ 6″) is a much more sensible option.”

Also, small tri fan Uli Kerner sent me this link to a forum thread featuring more info about the Strike 15 trimaran. (Thanks Uli :-)

Click on image below to either view (or download and save to your PC) the current Strike 15 Trimaran Study Plan from Richard Woods’ site…

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Small tri fan George Privett sent this clip to me (thanks George. Would love to know more about this boat.

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I love this little design. (Wish I had one myself).

Anyhow … the occasion for this photo opp was preparation for a feature about the Seaclipper 10 trimaran currently being prepared by WoodenBoat Magazine. As a matter of fact, BANANAS may even be on the cover … although I’m not 100% sure about that.

A boatload of guys (pun intended) have built their own Seaclipper 10s over the years. And a recent resurgence of interest in backyard boat-building has sparked new interest in Mr. Marples’ “easy to build” small tris for guys that want tough boats that are proven performers … without having to spend an arm and a leg.

John told me that a dad and his son (in Washington State) built one of these boats in about 100 hours. That seems to be the standard for this one. And all types of sailors, from novice, to experienced (like the one in the following pics, who has spinnaker handling skills) seem to have a blast in them too.

The sailor in these photos, by the way, is a young woman named Stephanie Evans. Stephanie emailed me right after this post went up and shared the following …

“I grew up sailing in South Africa with my family and sail 5-days a week out of the Berkeley Marina during the sailing season. I primarily sail for pleasure (and volunteer my time as an instructor) with Cal Sailing Club, and am a Sailing Instructor for Cal Adventures through UC Berkeley.

I’ve read through more of your blog and I can see why people love these boats! Bananas was my first small trimaran sailing experience and I’m definitely going to try and get some more water time with this design.”

(Click on the images to enlarge them) …

John Marples Built This Seaclipper 10 Trimaran & Named It BANANAS

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http://www.seagull-boatdesign.com/aktuelles/trimaran.html

The shape looks terrific considering the process and materials used. And here is the video of the Seagull trimaran that is embedded on the link URL …

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Pretty neat Tim!

He shares some photos with us, along with a little bit of the story behind this new craft (which he personally designed and built himself) in this post.

Thanks for sharing it with us small tri guys Tim.

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E15 Trimaran Launched in Sanginet, France
by Tim Elay

The new E15 Trimaran was designed and built by myself with my old Laser rig in mind … which I had laying around in the garden for years and years.

New E15 Trimaran Now Sailing in France

It is 14 foot 8 long and a total beam of 12 foot. Very simple construction (as I have only basic woodwork skills), a sort of ‘stitch and glue’ with 5 mm plywood and polyester resin/bandage (no epoxy anywhere on it – my wife is very allergic to it).

It has a self-draining cockpit and hollow box ply/wood cross beams. And this small trimaran can carry up to two adults — or me and my two children — but is more fun on one’s own.

The hull weight 90 pounds, with an all-up sailing weight of 230 pounds. It features a standard Laser 1 rig (the sail design is from the 1996 Atlanta Olympic games – which shows you how long I have had it!) I am planning to add a small jib in the next few weeks to take the sail area up to about 10 square metres.

Building only took about 2 months, but winter and getting resin supplies delayed me. I spent about 400 euros all up on ply, glue, resin, paint and so on. The rig was mine, anyway, as was the rudder and centre board.

This weekend was the first sail on a large lake near Bordeaux, France. It was cold but the wind was a good force 2-3.

I got 9 mph out of her but my wife took off one hull and took the speed up to 11.4mph with my son Max aboard. I think it will change from a Trimaran to proa as the mood and conditions dictate.

E15 Trimaran Turned Into a Proa

I can’t wait for the next sail as I need to beat my wife’s top speed!

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