dragontri
New member
Designing a daysailer for aging boomers
There’s a case to be made for a design of a trimaran that fits the nice market for aging sailors. Boomers are after all the original instigators of the sailboat boom and the love of sailing hasn’t gone away but age puts a limit on agility and physical strength. With the exception of a few old salts, sailors our age like to go out for a few hours when the weather is nice and be back in time for cocktails or other leisure activities, without spending a couple of hours rigging up and rigging down for every outing.
Personally, I want all the good things from daysailers like the Ensign, Alerion, small O’days etc. but without the hull speed limits, the tippy-ness and weight of a monohull.
A trimaran in the 20 to 25 foot range, with a very simple rig that can be completely handled from the cockpit would do nicely. I won’t be looking for a performance-first boat, I’ve had plenty of that and I mostly want the joy of quiet and effortless sailing in semi-protected waters. That said, I don’t want a ‘dog’, so I’ll expect an excellent hull fineness ratio plus good Bruce and RPI numbers but still a safe craft. Of course, that points to lightweight and more expensive construction but I’ve found that using high tech composites selectively doesn’t affect total vessel price by more than a few percent. While my other half says to just buy a Corsair or Dragonfly, I think that there is a case to be made for a new design, as even those beautiful trimarans have way too many strings to pull and are trying too hard to be pocket cruisers/club racers, which also makes them much more expensive. There are several other small tri’s out there, but none have the simplicity nor the low enough price tag that I am looking for.
So here are my ‘specs’ or wish list.
- A flared main hull with high enough bow and topsides to avoid getting doused by small waves or boat wakes plus a deep and roomy cockpit with comfortable seating for 4 and no mid-way obstructing beams or travelers to try to get over. No cruising accommodation, just a minimal cuddy cabin or other arrangement for stowage of essentials.
- Swing or folding arms with firm tramps when deployed, with a handrail on the back beam to get easily on/off the craft- Full amas to enhance stability and flat sailing.
- An open transom would be nice, and swing-up rudder(s?) and centerboard are a must.
- An unstayed wing mast, preferably gimballed or otherwise easy to lower/dis-assemble, placed as far forward as feasible to create extra cockpit space and make the mainsail the primary driving force. An under-foredeck tabernacle would be ideal, and with a carbon wing mast the weight could be kept down sufficiently to make raising/lowering the mast safe and fast. I already made a mock-up of a tabernacle system that is handled by the primary winch and would weigh less than fifty pounds.
- A fully battened square top main on a mast track with cars, with a Dutchman or similar system for easy hoisting/lowering the sail. Plus a self-tacking roller furler jib, cut high enough not to impede visibility.
- Boomless main sail to save the old noggins from an incidental and potentially disastrous whack, with a Heneman sheeting arrangement instead of a traveler.
From reaching out to trimaran designers, builders and other people in the know, I have a great feedback that we could incorporate quickly in a full spec. If we can get a design done over the winter, we can pick a builder next spring and be on the water just in time for COVID to be over!
Looking forward to expert feedback!
There’s a case to be made for a design of a trimaran that fits the nice market for aging sailors. Boomers are after all the original instigators of the sailboat boom and the love of sailing hasn’t gone away but age puts a limit on agility and physical strength. With the exception of a few old salts, sailors our age like to go out for a few hours when the weather is nice and be back in time for cocktails or other leisure activities, without spending a couple of hours rigging up and rigging down for every outing.
Personally, I want all the good things from daysailers like the Ensign, Alerion, small O’days etc. but without the hull speed limits, the tippy-ness and weight of a monohull.
A trimaran in the 20 to 25 foot range, with a very simple rig that can be completely handled from the cockpit would do nicely. I won’t be looking for a performance-first boat, I’ve had plenty of that and I mostly want the joy of quiet and effortless sailing in semi-protected waters. That said, I don’t want a ‘dog’, so I’ll expect an excellent hull fineness ratio plus good Bruce and RPI numbers but still a safe craft. Of course, that points to lightweight and more expensive construction but I’ve found that using high tech composites selectively doesn’t affect total vessel price by more than a few percent. While my other half says to just buy a Corsair or Dragonfly, I think that there is a case to be made for a new design, as even those beautiful trimarans have way too many strings to pull and are trying too hard to be pocket cruisers/club racers, which also makes them much more expensive. There are several other small tri’s out there, but none have the simplicity nor the low enough price tag that I am looking for.
So here are my ‘specs’ or wish list.
- A flared main hull with high enough bow and topsides to avoid getting doused by small waves or boat wakes plus a deep and roomy cockpit with comfortable seating for 4 and no mid-way obstructing beams or travelers to try to get over. No cruising accommodation, just a minimal cuddy cabin or other arrangement for stowage of essentials.
- Swing or folding arms with firm tramps when deployed, with a handrail on the back beam to get easily on/off the craft- Full amas to enhance stability and flat sailing.
- An open transom would be nice, and swing-up rudder(s?) and centerboard are a must.
- An unstayed wing mast, preferably gimballed or otherwise easy to lower/dis-assemble, placed as far forward as feasible to create extra cockpit space and make the mainsail the primary driving force. An under-foredeck tabernacle would be ideal, and with a carbon wing mast the weight could be kept down sufficiently to make raising/lowering the mast safe and fast. I already made a mock-up of a tabernacle system that is handled by the primary winch and would weigh less than fifty pounds.
- A fully battened square top main on a mast track with cars, with a Dutchman or similar system for easy hoisting/lowering the sail. Plus a self-tacking roller furler jib, cut high enough not to impede visibility.
- Boomless main sail to save the old noggins from an incidental and potentially disastrous whack, with a Heneman sheeting arrangement instead of a traveler.
From reaching out to trimaran designers, builders and other people in the know, I have a great feedback that we could incorporate quickly in a full spec. If we can get a design done over the winter, we can pick a builder next spring and be on the water just in time for COVID to be over!
Looking forward to expert feedback!
