New Trimaran Sailing Canoe from Solway Dory
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!).
I am direct-linking to the images below from their published locations inside the webpage at the WoodenBoat Forum. Hopefully we can find out some more about this one in the near future.
February 7th, 2013 at 3:38 pm
The sliding aspect shown in the last pic is intriguing…it doesn’t decrease the width or make trailering easier, but if you were going to do a lot of side tie docking or take passengers or gear on/off frequently I could see this being a pretty neat feature.
In a docking situation like the one shown but in heavy chop and weather, being able to slide the main hull’s buoyancy over to combine with that dockside ama could significantly decrease the leverage acting to grind that ama to matchsticks against the dock. It’s not something that happens every day, but it happens.
When it does you realize quickly that while a small tri platform is light and easy to push off of things, when you add in the torsional forces generated by the wide footprint, extra windage, etc. in a blow, it can move against things with forces equal to those seen in heavier ballasted boats and being built lighter they can sustain a lot of damage dockside by comparison.
February 7th, 2013 at 4:06 pm
Yes, those sliding crossbeams are pretty neat, for sure. Somebody put some thought into it. I’m also guessing the crossbeam attachment mechanism(s) holding things in place — including the amas — are designed to work quickly. (I would hope this is the case anyhow). Still, amas can be a hassle to attach every time somebody wants to go sailing. Folding system anyone? :-)
February 7th, 2013 at 5:36 pm
Yeah, that kind of setup definitely has drawbacks as far as daysailer assembly, especially single-handed … but I was even thinking about how it could be utilized for something like a motorized water taxi or a harbor utility or light cargo craft…I can also see all kinds of ways where this might be a nice feature when doing dive and rescue/salvage operations.
February 9th, 2013 at 5:51 pm
That is a good looking boat. And the free standing rig is a real plus for ease od use and facilitating a folding set-up.
Like Joe, I would be inclined to switch up to a folding configuration. With relatively flat shear lines on main hull and amas, and no standing rigging, it looks like the Marples Seaclipper swinging akas would be a natural progression.
Thanks for finding new designs like this and giving them a bit of a spotlight for the rest of us to see!
February 17th, 2013 at 12:28 am
The hull and floats look OK, but the crossbeams look really horrible – a couple of lengths of scaffolding tube – and the sliding adjustment is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. The main hull could be much wider at deck leve, with side seats for the crew. The rig is good and simple, but more work is needed to produce a decent small tri to cruise in and sleep aboard.
March 16th, 2013 at 10:32 am
This is a sailing / paddling outrigger sailing canoe / small trimaran designed for car topping, good cruising speed, multi day expeditions without an engine and ability to portage on a small trolley carried aboard.
There’s more to the crossbeams than may be apparent from the photos. One of their virtues is quick and secure assembly based on an ingenious locking mechanism. The sliding adjustment is a by product. The main hull is deliberately narrow for paddling performance.
I’m sure sleeping aboard this boat is perfectly possible but space would be little more than a back packing tent. Sleeping ashore with the boat pulled up the beach would be the favoured option, with ability to bivi at anchor a useful occasional alternative.
It might make an excellent Everglades Challenge boat and is well suited for cruising and camping ashore in the UK. More can be seen at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Solway-Dory/116879172422?fref=ts . Scroll down to early Jan 2013.