I recently contacted Tim Clissold, who operates TC Design Ltd in New Zealand, and asked him about the small trimaran model he named TC 660. Tim was kind enough to respond to my query and answered the following questions for us readers in the SmallTrimaran.com community.
Enjoy …
Can you share with my readers just a little bit about yourself and how you came to be a sailor & boat designer?
You can see more about me on my ‘About Us’ page of my website www.tcdesign.co.nz, but briefly I have been sailing since I was thirteen in the New Zealand P Class, then onto trailer yachts, keelers, lasers, Paper Tiger Catamarans, an array of multihulls, and then onto designing and building my own.
Can you tell me about the TC 660 Sailing Trimaran?
This was designed as a thoroughly modern boat, with buoyancy low in the floats, and so reverse bows. My philosophy is even small boats are expensive, so it needed to have at least weekend accommodation, rather than being just a day boat.
I am a fan of boomless mainsails, mainly from the safety aspect of removing the danger of a boom when gybing. But also it is a lighter and cheaper solution to sheeting the main. A self taking jib is effective for racing and much less effort for cruising. Fully battened jibs don’t flog, so are quieter and less distracting if allowed to luff. A staysail would be available for stronger wind performance.
The usual array of gennakers and screachers can be carried from the retracting pole for down wind performance. By having the rudders in the floats it leaves the main transom clear for the outboard, while when sailing the boat can be driven hard and remain in control.
How easy/hard is it to rig the TC 660 Sailing Trimaran to sail?
The boat could have telescoping beams, or be simply de-mountable. Folding systems are clever, but add to the cost and complexity of what is a small boat.
How easy/hard to actually sail this boat?
With good systems in place the boat will be as easy to sail as any other similar sized trimaran. No performance boat is for people who are unaware and insensitive to the changing wind conditions and their effect on stability and speed. There are plenty of monohulls out there for those that are. But this boat will reward good sailors with good performance.
What will cruising speeds be?
This again depends on the conditions, skill of the crew, and what comfort level they expect in waves. But 8-10 knots averages should be easily possible, in good conditions. Top speeds will be in the early 20’s.
What do prospective buyers seem to want to ask about this boat?
The usual question is how much will it cost. The answer would be similar to other similar sized trimarans in your local currency. All boats need hulls, paint, sails, engines, deck gear etc. One design, for its length and features, will not be particularly cheaper than another.
Would the person who buys plans for this boat probably build it or hire somebody to do it for them?
A skilled or enthusiastic amateur could build the boat.
If they a sailor wanted to build it themselves is there anything you’ve done with the plans or process to make things easier for building?
I have used the female frame split on the centreline with vertical foam strips method since the mid 90’s. This is an effective way of building a light weight foam boat. More importantly it means the interior can be detailed without having to get in and out of the main hatch for the whole interior construction. This is more efficient, and less chance of epoxy poisoning as the ventilation is so much better for the builder.
What kind of a person/sailor would be looking for a boat like this?
Someone wanting a modern, fast, performance boat that they can still tow home behind their car, and is not too big and expensive to own and maintain. It could be used for exploring areas only accessible by road, for regattas or cruising.
As with any designer, I’m always coming up with improvements, so this design has been updated slightly since what is on the website.
Finally, I am always out sailing on my TC 10 catamaran Pulse. New ideas rarely start with inspiration from within an office, but while out sailing, and feeling the action of wind and waves on a boat and sails, and seeing what works and what doesn’t. I am a sailor before I am a designer.
Click here to read about Tim’s TC 660 trimaran model on his website.
