Hey everyone,
Wanted to introduce a project that I inherited from my late father. It's a Naval Force 3 Challenge 37, built in 1996. It was ripped from its moorings in 2003 and landed on the shore were rocks ripped essentially the entire bottom hull to shreds. He called Naval Force to ask for a ballpark repair cost; They said it would be around 150k if we got the boat over to La Rochelle in France, and that no one in the states had enough experience to fix it to OEM spec. This of course was not an acceptable solution for my father.
Undeterred, he purchased the original plans for a few hundred, packed up an SUV and trailer with balsa and fiberglass, and drove 1300 miles down the coast to the Bahamas and sailed back solo 3 months later to NY with it. With work, me and my schooling, and many other projects, the boat languished on land since 2003. In the meantime we dropped in a small 2 cylinder yanmar since the 15hp outboard worked only under 10knots of wind, and made minor interior modifications.
Since then, he scoured eBay for sails and parts, dozens of multihull forums for advice and help. He had the skill and passion, the only limit for him was time.
Time ran out for him exactly a year ago, on Sept. 11. He never got to see his dream back on the water ever again, he put me and my family ahead of his individual goals.
Well now it's my time to step up and finish it. I spent days cleaning the inside from all types of rodents, the stench was near unbearable. I thought the the years of moss and algae took its toll on the hull, but his hard work persevered. After a good detailed wash the outriggers look nearly new. I have a ton of work in front of me, some fiberglass exposed the wood underneath and began to rot, I need a new mainsail, and to fire up the old yanmar.
I have zero experience working with fiberglass, he never took me along when he worked on it, he preferred I spend my teenage years in school and books. The learning curve will be steep, as I can't afford anyone to work on it, but it will sail again one day soon. I know its not as fancy as 90% of the yachts here, but to me it means more than any America's cup boat.
Here's some shots if anyone wants to take a look.
From 2003-2005 https://imgur.com/a/rR8zP7w
From this year when I started cleaning: https://imgur.com/a/FaSIUX1
I'm interested in building a trimaran, primarily for use as a liveaboard. I have ample experience living aboard boats, and some experience with sailing. I'd like to find a set of plans for a tri that is:
-Fiberglass (because of it's longevity; hopefully I can use EcoPoxy) -Foldable in the water, both for passage through locks and for storage/use at piers where an unfolded tri would be too wide -Preferably shrouded with fiber shrouds (to facilitate cutting in an emergency) that only go to the central hull, and with a mast that can be folded or dismounted for trailering (not something I plan on doing much, but it's nice to have the option) -Is positively buoyant even if swamped -Can have attachment points included for towing on land (should beaching become desirable) and for crane lifts/ capsize recovery -Has full standing room inside -Has enough room for a small fridge/freezer and at least a two-burner stove (oven would be a nice bonus)
I've seen quite a few sets of plans out there, but many seem sparse on the details. Some explicitly state they can only be folded or demounted out of the water, but some aren't clear. Some state their standing height, but others don't. Am I stuck having something custom designed?
Hi all,
I am considering purchasing a trimaran. However, I have researched that would take a long time (like 5-6 years for catamarans). So in your experience what is the average lead time for trimarans?
Hi,
im considering a dragonfly, id love a 1200 but a 100 is within the budget,
does anyone have experience doing ocean crossings and encountering rough seas in tris?
love the idea of them but slightly concerned with seaworthiness.
thanks!
I am currently 3d modelling my "perfect cruising boat" for fun.
I decided to make a trimaran and have noticed that none of the images i have seen show trimarans with a keel.
Now i don't know much (if anything) about boat building, but it would seem that adding a keel to a trimaran would make sense. Lots of monohull sailing boats have a keel to allow them more leeway before tipping over so why would you not add the same advantage to a trimaran?
I understand it wouldn't make much sense on a catamaran but with a trimaran that has a larger main hull it seems like it would be an advantage?
Edit:
Thank you all for the great answers!
Hey everyone,
Wanted to introduce a project that I inherited from my late father. It's a Naval Force 3 Challenge 37, built in 1996. It was ripped from its moorings in 2003 and landed on the shore were rocks ripped essentially the entire bottom hull to shreds. He called Naval Force to ask for a ballpark repair cost; They said it would be around 150k if we got the boat over to La Rochelle in France, and that no one in the states had enough experience to fix it to OEM spec. This of course was not an acceptable solution for my father.
Undeterred, he purchased the original plans for a few hundred, packed up an SUV and trailer with balsa and fiberglass, and drove 1300 miles down the coast to the Bahamas and sailed back solo 3 months later to NY with it. With work, me and my schooling, and many other projects, the boat languished on land since 2003. In the meantime we dropped in a small 2 cylinder yanmar since the 15hp outboard worked only under 10knots of wind, and made minor interior modifications.
Since then, he scoured eBay for sails and parts, dozens of multihull forums for advice and help. He had the skill and passion, the only limit for him was time.
Time ran out for him exactly a year ago, on Sept. 11. He never got to see his dream back on the water ever again, he put me and my family ahead of his individual goals.
Well now it's my time to step up and finish it. I spent days cleaning the inside from all types of rodents, the stench was near unbearable. I thought the the years of moss and algae took its toll on the hull, but his hard work persevered. After a good detailed wash the outriggers look nearly new. I have a ton of work in front of me, some fiberglass exposed the wood underneath and began to rot, I need a new mainsail, and to fire up the old yanmar.
I have zero experience working with fiberglass, he never took me along when he worked on it, he preferred I spend my teenage years in school and books. The learning curve will be steep, as I can't afford anyone to work on it, but it will sail again one day soon. I know its not as fancy as 90% of the yachts here, but to me it means more than any America's cup boat.
Here's some shots if anyone wants to take a look.
From 2003-2005 https://imgur.com/a/rR8zP7w
From this year when I started cleaning: https://imgur.com/a/FaSIUX1
