trimaran design principles

We know that Owen Clarke Design are not the first office that comes to mind when thinking of multihull designs. However, we were first before anything else trimaran designers long before moving into the field of high performance monohulls with the development of Open 60s such as Kingfisher, and Ecover. Bare with us and please take the time to read the paragraphs below. They serve to illustrate our extensive and largely unknown background in trimaran and performance catamaran design to the media, interested parties, existing and future clients.

We look forward to meeting the client who's interested to tread a different path and wants something innovative and exciting, while at the same time using experienced designers and engineers. If you might be that client and wish to begin that discussion contact us

For more information on our 24m design go to:

For an explanation of the technology behind the design process go to:

For an insight into our engineering and detailed design work go to:

And for those that might be interested, three videos from the 90's from three classic British multihull events:

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Trimaran: A novel ship design 

14 December 2014

A novel ship design with two slender side hulls supporting a main central hull enables the US Navy to operate its helicopters in bad weather, and ferrying cars and passengers between the remote islands of the Canaries. The ship, known as a trimaran, cuts fuel consumption and harmful greenhouse gas emissions at the same time.

UCL designed the first of a series of ocean-going trimaran ship studies in the early 1990s, which led to the building of the 1,200 tonne prototype trimaran vessel RV TRITON for the UK Defence Establishment Research Agency (DERA) in 2000. The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service has successfully used RV Triton as a coastal patrol and fisheries protection vessel on the northern tropical coast of Australia. Triton was selected over alternative equivalent monohull vessels for this patrol role because the trimaran offers lower resistance, improved sea-keeping and improved larger upper deck area. The lower resistance at high speeds allows the ship to achieve a superior range and improved fuel economy, hence lower CO 2 emissions, while other benefits include a large working deck area. When assessing the ship type, UCL researchers explored the challenges of both the naval architecture and marine engineering the trimaran hullform. It can be challenging to fit the propulsion engines into the ships' narrow centre-hull while retaining the advantage of increased efficiency that the slimmer hullforms offer. Further research was funded at UCL via an Office of Naval Research (United States) via UCL's involvement in the ACCeSS programme, which is a partnership with six US universities. At the end of the Cold War the US Navy determined a need for new ship types to combat asymmetrical littoral (close to shore) threats and the littoral combat ship (LCS) concept was born. The Independence Class LCS uses the trimaran design, and tests by the US Navy have shown it provides significant benefits to naval operations, including the largest usable payload volume per tonne of ship displacement of all US Navy surface combatants, a large flight deck that has facilitated near-simultaneous operation of two helicopters, proven capability of operating the large H-53 helicopter, and operations of multiple unmanned vehicles for reconnaissance and warfare operations. The increased stability of the trimaran hullform has improved flight operations by allowing them to be achieved in worse weather than equivalent-sized monohulls and catamarans. The first modular high-speed trimaran LCS was designed by General Dynamics and built by Austal (USA) and commissioned into the US Navy USS Independence (2008) and was followed by USS Coronado built at Bath Iron Works (USA) (2012). Four more trimaran Independence Class vessels have been ordered since 2008, and eventually a fleet of 20+ LCS trimaran vessels is expected. An important economic benefit of the trimaran LCS programme has been to support jobs at Austal's site in the United States, which has been able to double its workforce to 3,800. The trimaran model is also applicable to commercial vessels: the trimaran ferry Benchijigua Express built by Austal (Australia) which entered service in 2005 and is used to carry cars and passengers between the Canary Islands.

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Explorer 44 Trimaran

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Why You Want a Trimaran: Pros and Cons of a Trimaran

Three hulls are better than one!  That would be the adage of the trimaran.  It consists of one central hull with two smaller side hulls, called amas.  The average person conceives of the trimaran as something even more extreme than catamarans.  Lighter weight, higher speed, more specialized.  The opposite is actually true; trimarans fill an excellent transition role between monohulls and catamaran.  Recognize the potential applications by understanding the strengths and weakness of the trimaran hullform.

1.0 What Makes a Trimaran

When you seek trimarans, envision stability.  A conventional monohull must balance conflicting needs of resistance and stability.  You want a narrow skinny hull to reduce resistance (and fuel consumption).  But you need a wide hull to maintain vessel stability and keep the ship upright.  The trimaran separates these two design requirements.

In a trimaran, the central hull provides most of the ship buoyancy (90-95% usually).  It does this with a long, narrow hull.  And then the outer hulls, called amas, provide the stability.  This arrangement allows incredible flexibility in the hull design.  Due to the wide separation between hulls, it requires very little buoyancy in the amas to keep the trimaran stable.  That is why many trimarans barely have their amas in the water.  Compare the relative size of the amas vs the main hull in Figure 1‑1.  The amas are just there for stability.

2.0 Advantages

The trimaran offers several capabilities to bridge the gap between monohulls and catamarans:

• Excellent for high speed
• Moderate weight carrying capacity
• Good seakeeping capability
• Larger available deck area
• Moderate space below the main deck

Another advantage is the design of the cross deck (Figure 2‑1) between the main hull and amas.  On a catamaran, this cross deck bridges a large empty gap.  Large gaps add complexity to the engineering and require stronger structures.  We don’t like that.  Stronger structures mean more weight and higher costs.  But the trimaran’s cross deck is much smaller.  It requires less of a gap between hulls, and it does not extend for the entire ship length.  Longitudinal bending is less of a concern for the cross deck.  This greatly simplifies the design of that cross deck, giving us many advantages:

• Heavier loads can be carried on the cross deck
• Less structural weight required for the cross deck
• Deadweight coefficients closer to monohulls

The long length of the center hull also offers great advantages for seakeeping.  This length greatly reduces pitch motions in a wave, and the narrow center hull reduces chances of slamming.  To improve things even more, the side amas reduce roll motions.  They add stiffness to prevent large roll motions.  But they also act to reduce roll accelerations.  All together, trimarans make for gentle seakeeping.

The trimaran offers major advantages for damage survival.  The side amas provide excellent protection to the center hull, which military designers find especially useful.  But the cross deck also helps with damage survival by containing massive reserve buoyancy.  Imagine a damage situation where the ship sinks down to its cross deck.  On a monohull, that would be game over.  But on a trimaran, the cross deck suddenly becomes a barge, easily supporting the entire ship weight.  This reserve buoyancy provides extra peace of mind in yachting applications.

Speaking of peace of mind, let’s talk about a sudden loss of stability.  In catamarans, you lose stability once a single ama completely leaves the water.  Push a catamaran past that point, and stability is a losing battle.  A fact that scares many vessel operators.  Trimarans do not have this problem.  They get stability mainly from submerging the amas.  The center hull always stays in the water, and the leeward ama continues to submerge.  This creates a predictable increase in righting moment.  In normal cases, trimarans never experience the sudden loss of stability.

3.0 Disadvantages

The biggest disadvantage for trimarans is lack of experience.  There are few trimarans in military applications, and even less in commercial use.  That lack of exposure instills wariness in many operators.  I appreciate caution, but don’t let that stop you from realizing the benefits of a trimaran.

Trimarans do have a few genuine detractors.  Due to their complexity, they require some extra design effort.  The cross deck introduces a few extra ways to twist and bend the ship, and the engineers must check each of these extra scenarios.  Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is the ideal tool for this.

Don’t worry about the FEA bill.  You should expect a slight increase, but nothing huge.  FEA was already a part of the design process for normal monohulls.  Most ship designs already require FEA to consider global hull bending.  That means the hard part is already done.  Your engineer already had to build an FEA model of the hull.  With minimal effort, engineers can expand that model to account for the additional design scenarios of a trimaran.

Cost definitely factors into trimaran construction.  The cross deck and extra hulls do add extra steel to the design.  You have to pay for that extra steel as part of the build cost. (Figure 3‑1)  But don’t assume this drastically increases the total build cost.  Adding extra structure is far less expensive than adding extra machinery and power.

Consider the alternative to a trimaran:  an equivalent monohull.  For the monohull, we strip off the side amas and widen the center hull to maintain ship stability.  But bad news.  A wider hull requires a larger engine, and associated support machinery.  In general, the machinery accounts for approximately 50% of the total build cost.  The structure is only around 25-30% of the build cost. [3]  Adding larger machinery costs twice as much as adding extra structure.

4.0 Applications

You see trimarans most often in high speed vessels and the occasional military vessel.

• Car ferries
• Military ships

One of the first experimental military trimarans was the Triton, a steel vessel with a displacement exceeding 1000 MT. [3]  (Figure 4‑1)  These are not little vessels.

Don’t think of trimarans as an expensive hullform.  The prevalence of trimarans with expensive ships is mostly a coincidence.  Imagine if you wanted a high speed ship.  First step is pick a trimaran hullform.  But for high speed, you also build it out of aluminum and load it with powerful engines.  Those are all high priced decisions that get imposed on the trimaran hullform.  The hull shape does not drive the price tag, and trimarans are not limited to high speed.

Aker Arctic even investigated using trimarans as an icebreaking tug. (Figure 4‑2)  Aker found the trimaran configuration especially useful for cutting wide channels through the ice with less power.  Trimarans are just a hull configuration.  How you use the hull is up to you.

5.0 Conclusion

Don’t let the previous trimarans limit your imagination.  The trimaran hullform bridges the gap between monohulls and catamarans.  It offers some advantages of both deadweight capability and larger deck area.  Primarily, trimarans deliver ship stability in a very power efficient package.  What uses can you imagine with that flexibility?

6.0 References

Related posts

Figure 3-1: Icebreaker Healy [4]

Surviving the Arctic: Polar Class Icebreakers

Figure 2-1: Icebreaker Mackinaw in Sea Ice [3]

Ramming the Ice: Icebreaker Propulsion

How to Design a Ship

Stability Letters Explained

TRI-STAR 50's spacious main salon is just one of the many enjoyable features that makes living aboard her truly enjoyable. The main salon gives you spaciousness and comfort in a fully enclosed deckhouse that has a panoramic view. The main salon will provide a relaxing environment for dockside dining or just lounging.

The interior of TRI-STAR 50 has been laid out to give those living aboard the spaciousness required for enjoyment. Starting at the bow, there is a large forward compartment that may have many optional layouts and should meet any requirements desired by the skipper. The galley and living area are also spacious and arranged with all the comforts for enjoyable living. Like on all TRISTAR flush deck designs, one can enter the ama's from the living area without the need for going outside and entering through the private ama entrance. The aft compartment was designed and laid out for the owner that enjoys having all his own cc'mforts in spacious privacy.

TRI-STAR 50, a sister ship to TRI-STAR 49, has all the same great sailing and seaworthy features that all TRI-STAR's have exhibited and proven with their many miles of ocean cruising. TRI-STAR 50 is a fast and seaworthy Trimaran, she is spacious because of her unitized construction and flush deck design. TRI-STAR 50, a Trimaran that anyone can sail around the world in comfort and enjoy as the designer has the pleasure and freedom of marine living.

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Catamaran Hull Design

• Post author By Rick
• Post date June 29, 2010
• 2 Comments on Catamaran Hull Design

Part 1: Notes from Richard Woods

Since the America’s Cup experimented with going multihull, there’s been a lot of interest in catamaran performance and the catamaran hull designs that define performance. Many guys are investigating whether to buy a catamaran or design and build their dream boat. Let it be said here that building a large catamaran is not for the faint of heart. People begin building 100s of boats a year, yet few are ever completed, as life always seems to have a way of interfering with a good boat build. 

Never the less, since the rest of this website is about selecting and buying a boat , it only seems fair to have at least one webpage that covers catamaran design. This page contains notes on boat hull design goals and an accompanying page from Terho Halme has mathematical formulas used in actual catamaran hull design. It has become a popular research stop and an important reference to the catamaran design community.

The content of this page was reproduced from the maestro of Catamaran designs, renown British naval architect, Richard Woods, who not only designs catamarans, he sails them across oceans…. repeatedly. He has a lot to say on the subject of catamaran hull design.

“…When it’ all said and done, the performance of a sailing catamaran is dependent on three primary specs: length, sail area and weight. If the boat is longer it generally means it’ a faster boat. If she has more sail area, it means she’ a faster boat and if she’ light it means she’ a faster boat.  Of course, there are limits: Too much sail area capsizes the boat in brisk winds. If the boat is designed too light, she will not take any kind of punishment. Too slim a hull design and the boat becomes a large Hobie Cat capable of only carrying your lunch. Of course, too long and large and you’d have to be Bill Gates to afford one. Then there are lot of additional and very important factors like underwater hull shape, aspect ratios of boards and sails, wet deck clearance, rotating or fixed rigging and so on….” Richard Woods

All Catamarans are not equal, but all sailboats have two things in common: They travel on water and they’re wind powered, so the Catamaran design equations in the 2nd part should apply to every catamaran from a heavy cruising Cat to a true ocean racer.

Richard Wood’s comments on catamaran design:

We all know that multihulls can be made faster by making them longer or lighter or by adding more sail. Those factors are the most important and why they are used as the basis of most rating rules. However using just those figures is a bit like determining a cars performance just by its hp and curbside weight. It would also imply that a Tornado would sail as fast forwards as backwards (OK, I know I just wrote that a Catalac went faster backwards than forwards)

So what next?? Weight and length can be combined into the Slenderness Ratio (SLR). But since most multihulls have similar Depth/WL beam ratios you can pretty much say the SLR equates to the LWL/BWL ratio. Typically this will be 8-10:1 for a slow cruising catamaran (or the main hull of most trimarans), 12-14:1 for a performance cruiser and 20:1 for an extreme racer.

So by and large faster boats have finer hulls. But the wetted surface area (WSA) increases proportionately as fineness increases (for a given displacement the half orange shape gives the least WSA) so fine hulls tend to be slower in low wind speeds.

The most important catamaran design hull shape factor, is the Prismatic Coefficient (Cp). This is a measure of the fullness of the ends of the hull. Instinctively you might think that fine ends would be faster as they would “cut through the water better”. But in fact you want a high Cp for high speeds. However everything is interrelated. If you have fine hulls you can use a lower Cp. Most monohulls have a Cp of 0.55- 0.57. And that is about right for displacement speeds.

However the key to Catamaran design is you need a higher Cp if you want to sail fast. So a multihull should be at least 0.61 and a heavy displacement multihull a bit higher still. It is difficult to get much over 0.67 without a very distorted hull shape or one with excessive WSA. So all multihulls should have a Cp between 0.61 and 0.65. None of this is very special or new. It has been well known by naval architects for at least 50 years.

There are various ways of achieving a high Cp. You could fit bulb bows (as Lock Crowther did). Note this bow is a bit different from those seen on ships (which work at very specific hull speeds – which are very low for their LOA). But one problem with them is that these tend to slam in a seaway. 

Another way is to have a very wide planing aft section. But that can increase WSA and leads to other problems I’ll mention in a minute. Finally you can flatten out the hull rocker (the keel shape seen from the side) and add a bustle aft. That is the approach I use, in part because that adds displacement aft, just where it is most needed.

I agree that a high Cp increases drag at low speeds. But at speeds over hull speed drag decreases dramatically on a high Cp boat relative to one with a low Cp. With the correct Cp drag can be reduced by over 10%. In other words you will go 10% faster (and that is a lot!) in the same wind and with the same sails as a boat with a unfavorable Cp. In light winds it is easy to overcome the extra drag because you have lots of stability and so can fly extra light weather sails.

The time you really need a high Cp boat is when beating to windward in a big sea. Then you don’t have the stability and really want to get to your destination fast. At least I do, I don’t mind slowly drifting along in a calm. But I hate “windward bashing”

But when you sail to windward the boat pitches. The sea isn’t like a test tank or a computer program. And here I agree with Evan. Immersed transoms will slow you down (that is why I use a narrower transom than most designers).

I also agree with Evan (and why not, he knows more about Volvo 60 design than nearly anyone else on the planet) in that I don’t think you should compare a catamaran hull to a monohull, even a racing one. Why chose a Volvo 60/Vendee boat with an immersed transom? Why not chose a 60ft Americas Cup boat with a narrow out of the water transom?? 

To be honest I haven’t use Michelet so cannot really comment. But I have tested model catamarans in a big test tank and I know how inaccurate tank test results can be. I cannot believe that a computer program will be better.

It would be easy to prove one way or the other though. A catamaran hull is much like a frigate hull (similar SLR, L/B ratios and Froude numbers) and there is plenty of data available for those. There is also a lot of data for the round bilge narrow non planing motorboats popular in the 1930’-50’s which again are similar to a single multihull hull.

One of the key findings I discovered with my tank test work was just how great the drag was due to wave interference between the hulls. Even a catamaran with a modern wide hull spacing had a drag increase of up to 20 % when compared to hulls at infinite spacing. One reason why just flying a hull is fast (the Cp increases when you do as well, which also helps). So you cannot just double the drag of a single hull and expect to get accurate results. And any speed prediction formula must include a windage factor if it is to give meaningful results.About 25 years ago we sailed two identical 24ft Striders next to each other. They were the same speed. Then we moved the crew of one boat to the bow. That boat IMMEDIATELY went ½ knot faster. That is why I now arrange the deck layout of my racing boats so that the crew can stay in front of the mast at all times, even when tacking or using the spinnaker.

I once raced against a bridge deck cabin catamaran whose skipper kept the 5 crew on the forward netting beam the whole race. He won.

Richard Woods of Woods Designs www.sailingcatamarans.com

• Tags Buying Advice , Catamaran Designers

Owner of a Catalac 8M and Catamaransite webmaster.

2 replies on “Catamaran Hull Design”

I totally agree with what you say. But Uli only talk sailing catamarans.

If only solar power. You need the very best. As limited watts. Hp.

The closer to 1-20 the better.

Closing the hulls to fit in cheaper marina berth. ?

You say not too close. But is that for sailing only.

Any comment is greatly appreciated

Kind regards Jeppe

Superb article

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16 Best Trimarans For Sailing Around The World (And a Few For Daysailing)

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Trimarans are growing in popularity worldwide, due to their light construction and high stability these multihulls are even faster than catamarans. Trimarans are still one of the lesser-known boat types so in this article ill be checking out some of the most popular models.

The best trimarans include: 

• The Neel 43 
• The Neel 47 
• Dragonfly 28 
• The Pulse 600 
• Corsair 37 

These tris are built with your safety in mind while also packing powerful speed and a wide array of comfort features to optimize your sailing experience , some are even foldable making them possible to load on a trailer and transport to the sailing destination of your choosing.

In this article, I have created a list of the 16 best trimarans in the market and their unique features. You’ll also learn the best options for different purposes such as circumnavigation, weekend sailing, racing, and more. 

Table of Contents

What Is a Trimaran?

A trimaran is a multi hulled sailboat with three individual hulls; the main hull ( vaka ) and a pair of outrigger hulls ( amas ). These smaller outrigger hulls are attached to the main hull using beams. 

While trimarans have a rich history dating back nearly four millennia, these types of sailboats have only gained popularity in the late 1900s and early 2000s. 

Trimarans are primarily used as personal boats for sailing enthusiasts or racing. These sailboats draw their versatility from their lightweight design, making them faster and easier to handle at sea when compared to single-hulled boats (monohulls). Additionally, the three hulls also contribute to better stability, making it very hard to capsize (although more likely than a cat according to this study)

Trimarans come in various sizes, and some can be as small as 19 feet (5.8 meters) in length, while others go up to 60 feet (18meters). They’re also used for different purposes. Most trimarans are used for racing and recreational purposes, although some units are still used as ferries.

As with all things, to find out which is the best we need to understand what it will be used for. There is a big difference in requirements between a boat used for day sailing compared to offshore around the world sailing.

The list below highlights the best trimarans for different purposes.

Best Trimarans For Cruising, Liveaboard and Sailing Around The World

The Neel 43 is a French trimaran best suited for cruising. Its key features include: 

• Easy maneuverability on the open sea by only a small number of crew members 

This unit is also built for comfort, ideal for more extended travels. This 43-feet (13-meter) trimaran is also made with recyclable and bio-sourced materials, highlighting the manufacturer’s commitment to environmental consciousness. 

This trimaran has a base price of  €329,000 excluding VAT. This translates to approximately $370,138. 

2.Neel 47 Possibly The Best

Named the best full-size multihull for 2020, the Neel 47 is a strong contender for one of the best trimarans in the market. This 47-foot (14.3-meter) long trimaran features optimized exterior and interior ergonomics for a unique design and look. 

Still on design, the Neel 47 is ideal for couples looking to take a weekend off or spend some time as liveaboard. It has a spacious owner’s cabin and two bedrooms. It also features a spacious living room and kitchen and is optimized to ensure comfort for a couple. 

The Neel 47 also has two basic guest cabins so your friends or children can tag along on your sailing adventure. Accordingly, this unit is ideal for those looking to explore the sea for the sheer joy of sailing. 

The Neel 47 comes at a 571,139 euro ( $643,600 ) price tag, excluding VAT. 

3. Rapido 60 The Fast and Comfortable Circumnavigator

The Rapido 60 offers a blend of performance, safety, and luxury, making it one of the best options for bluewater sailing. Measuring 59.3 feet (18 meters) in length, the Rapido 60 is an imposing unit. It’s made from lightweight sandwiches and carbon materials that provide speed and strength, allowing it to stand up to strong ocean currents. 

The Rapido 60 also has spacious living spaces and is built for comfort at all points of the sail. Its design also optimizes safety. While it’s an ideal option for circumnavigating, it’s also an excellent choice for racing due to its speed. 

This is also the same boat that The Youtube channel La Vagabond just purchased.

The Rapido 60 retails at $1,400,000 . 

4. Rapido 40

The Rapido 40 measures 39.4 feet (12 meters) in length and is ideal for cruising around the world. The Rapido 40 features twin “C” foils, which provide added lift, enhancing its speed and performance whether you are sailing downwind or upwind. 

Because it has C foils, this trimaran doesn’t have a central daggerboard, increasing interior space. Accordingly, it’s an excellent option for couples looking to cruise and enjoy great performances .

The Rapido 40 is made from high-tech all-carbon materials for a lightweight yet sturdy design. This material is also used for the countertops and furniture, and the cork flooring adds a touch of style.

This trimaran retails for $595,000 , making it a cheaper option than the Rapido 60. 

5. Dragonfly 40

The Dragonfly 40 measures 40 feet (12 meters) in length. It features high-comfort standards, making it one of the best trimarans in the market for taking your family for a cruise. Because of its larger size, it has a better capacity, being capable of accommodating six to eight people, so you can bring your family and friends along. 

It’s easy to navigate and extremely safe. With a maximum speed of 24 knots (44.5 km/h), this trimaran also provides fast speeds to make your cruise even more exhilarating. 

The Dragonfly 40 retails from €509,000 exclusive of VAT, which rounds up to $572,000 . 

6. Dragonfly 32

The Dragonfly 32 is a high-performance cruiser. Like the Dragonfly 28, this unit features a contemporary design for racing. This trimaran can accommodate five to seven crew members. 

Although slightly longer than the Dragonfly 28 with its 32-foot (9.8-meter) length, the Dragonfly 32 has a max speed of 23+ knots (42.6+ km/h), making it one of the fastest trimarans for racing. This unit also has comfortable accommodation, which makes it an ideal option for a weekend cruise with family and friends. 

The Dragonfly 32 has a base price of $350,000 . 

7. Corsair 37

Thanks to a variable draft with a retractable rudder, the Corsair 37 is an ideal choice for shallow water exploration. This 37-foot (11.3-meter) long trimaran features advanced foam-cored construction designed for safety, making it virtually unsinkable. 

The carbon hulls minimize weight, this makes for a lightweight ocean exploration sailboat with blistering speeds. One of its selling points is that this trimaran has previously been used for Arctic expeditions, possibly marking it as one of the better options for circumnavigation and offshore sailing in the northern waters. 

This trimaran has a base price of $189,000 but can go up to $204,125 .

Best Trimarans For Day/Weekend Sailing

8. dragonfly 28.

The Dragonfly 28 is a 28-feet (8.75-meter) long sailboat that can accommodate up to five people. It comes in two versions: 

• Touring version: This version is ideal for families.  
• Performance version: This is built to provide optimal performance for the sports enthusiast within you. 

It clocks a maximum speed of 22+ knots (22+ km/h) and is beam-folded. It’s an excellent option if you want a high-performance, comfortable yet smaller unit for your day or weekend cruise. 

The Dragonfly 28 starts at  €188,280 inclusive of VAT, which comes to around $211,600. 

9. Dragonfly 25

Like other trimarans under the Dragonfly brand, this 25-foot (7.62-meter) trimaran is great for both racing and short term cruising. However, this high-performance boat delivers easy handling, making it perfect for couples looking to take a ride out over the weekend and seasoned sailors looking for an exhilarating racing adventure. 

The Touring version features a lightweight build and offers comfort and accommodation to keep you, and the few guests you can fit, comfortable during the ride. This trimaran also has a Sport version, which is optimized for racing. 

The Dragonfly 25 retails from EUR 86,800 . 

10. Pulse 600

The Pulse 600 trimaran is a compact sailboat. It’s made from lightweight, carbon-reinforced construction and vacuum-formed materials for optimal speed. This trimaran is an ideal option if you are looking for speed. 

It also features ample deck space, greater stability, and volume than most trimarans of similar size and build. 

This trimaran measures 19.8 feet (6 meters) in length and can be sailed single-handedly by one person with minimal effort. The Pulse 600 has a base price of $38,800 , which places it in the lower price range. 

The F-22 is one of the smaller trimarans in the market. Developed in New Zealand, the F-22 is a folding trimaran built for speed. The hulls are made from narrow fiberglass tied together using fiberglass beams and aluminum, minimizing bulk while optimizing speed. 

The F-22 is roomy and is not as pricey as other models in the market. This trimaran has two main versions: 

12. 2019 Weta Trimaran

The 2019 Weta trimaran is a 14.5-foot (4.4-meter) trimaran featuring a carbon frame, centerboard, rudder foil, and rudder shock. The hull is made from fiberglass and foam. The Weta is built for strength and speed based on these lightweight materials. 

The 2019 Weta trimaran is easy to sail and is worth considering whether you want to take a quiet sail, race with your friends, or take kids to a sailing lesson. It has a simple design and is easy to set up independently. Thanks to its collapsible design, this trimaran is easily stored away with minimal space demands. 

13. WindRider 17

The 17.4-foot (5.3-meter) WindRider 17 is one of the more versatile trimarans in the market. It packs high performance for a low cost. This trimaran has a light rotating mast to boost performance, and a full-battened mainsail optimizes visibility. 

This sailboat is made from rotomolded polyethylene, which is more durable than fiberglass and demands less maintenance.

The WindRider 17 has a comfortable interior and can fit six adults. This is an ideal choice for social sailing for a couple or a family and friends. It’s easy to ride, and a shallow draft allows easy maneuverability. 

14. Astus 22.5

If you’re looking for something small but still comfortable, this 22.5-foot trimaran is for you. Built for speed and maneuverability, the Astus 22.5 has optional foils to optimize speed. The modern design, coupled with the spacious interior, can fit up to four beds. Accordingly, this trimaran is suited for family outings. 

This trimaran also has a foldable design, collapsing to only 16 feet (4.9 meters) for easy storage. 

15. Multi 23 Trimaran 

The Multi 23 trimaran has a contemporary design, featuring a vinyl ester and PVC foam core construction. The section below the waterline is made of solid glass for a sturdy base.

The beams are made of lightweight carbon, and the trimaran features a 33-foot (10-meter) aluminum rotating wing mast for optimal harnessing of the wind. While ideal for weekend excursions with family, once rigged with the asymmetrical spinnaker will get your heart pumping.

This trimaran packs high performance at a lower cost than most other options in the market. It’s a good choice if you are looking for a high-performing unit without spending an arm and a leg. 

16. Challenger Class Trimaran

The Challenger Trimaran 15 is the best choice for persons with disabilities. It’s designed to provide disabled sailors an opportunity to explore their passion for sailing without worrying about aspects like safety or operation. 

A man named Geoff Hold circumnavigated the British Isles in 2007, becoming the first disabled person to achieve this feat. He had quadriplegia. 

Living up to its name, the Challenger can withstand harsh weather conditions while blending performance with speed. 

Final Thoughts 

Admittedly, no trimaran is best for everyone. But whether you are looking to race with your friends, take your loved ones or friends for a cruise over the weekend, or circumnavigate the ocean, you can rest assured that these lightweight trimarans will deliver speed, safety, and comfort to make it worth your while. 

These brands are innovatively designed and feature intricate safety mechanisms that make them virtually unsinkable. Give them a shot and begin your ocean adventure. 

• Basco Boating: A Comprehensive Guide & Introduction to Trimaran Yachts
• TheBoatAPP: New Trumarans: Which are the Best Ones
• Corsair Marine: Corsair 37
• Dragonfly: Dragonfly 28
• Rapido Trimarans: Rapido 60
• Neel Trimarans: Neel 43
• Yachting World: World’s Collect Yachts: Maxi Trimaran MACIF
• Yachting Monthly: Dragonfly 28 Performance
• Rapido Trimarans: Rapido 40
• Dragonfly: Dragon 32
• Dragonfly: Dragonfly 40
• Yachting World: Dragonfly 40 yacht tour: This cruising trimaran can do 24 knots
• Dragonfly: Dragonfly 25
• NauticExpo: Dragonfly 25
• Yachtworld: Corsair 37 boats for sale
• Cruising World: Neel 47 Trimaran: Best Full-Size Multihull0
• Neel Trimaran: Neel 47
• Multihull Solutions: NEEL 47 Boat Review | Cruising World
• Yacht World: 2022 Neel 47 for sale
• Farrier International: F-22
• Weta Marine: The Boat
• WindRider: WindRider 17 Trimaran Sailboat 
• Astus Boats: Astus 22.5
• Boat-specs: Multi 23
• National Maritime Museum Cornwall: Challenger Trimaran #1 – BC26

Owner of CatamaranFreedom.com. A minimalist that has lived in a caravan in Sweden, 35ft Monohull in the Bahamas, and right now in his self-built Van. He just started the next adventure, to circumnavigate the world on a Catamaran!

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Trimaran help !?

Discussion in ' Boat Design ' started by Guardian , Apr 29, 2004 .

Guardian Junior Member

Hi all I am new here so be gentle But I have designed and but a few boats, just small fresh water flat bottom bass-style boats, But I have always wanted a trimaran. The one from Waterworld finally set the hook and reeled me in sorta speak . I was thinking some thing 60' LAO, and 85' tall, and about 30' wide. I want to use my own plans, but I know nothing on how to building/designing a big ol tri, any help ? any books or boat shops willing to take on an apprentice learner ? ( I live in Sarasota, Fl). I love the whole collapsable mast thing, and the steering handles on the steering column on the boat. Does any one know who made/makes the boat they used for Waterworld trimaran ? I also wanted to equip mine with the automatic ( with a flick of a lever) sail unflurring. Thanks for any help in advanced, Thanks, -Mike  

SailDesign Old Phart! Stay upwind..

THe hull was deisgned by Marc van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prevost, two of the best multihull designers out there. Most of the rest was Special FX. The actual sailing of the boat was done down below while Kevin Costner played around on the above-deck toys (which were not actually connected to any controls ) Fun concepts. though....  

The controls didn't work ?! Thats so wrong, well now i get to go and design working controls for it. How possible would it be to actually have a collasping main mast and extending sail ? Are they any cross sectoins or dimensional views of the waterworld trimaran ? this is going to be a fun proect....  

Mike, You might want to give the designers a buzz. THeir website is at http://www.mvpvlp.com/index_flash.html Steve  

Thanks for the site Steve , I will be sure to check it out. This is going to be fun to design, any books you could suggest for designing trimarans ? or other reference material ? I will be sure to post progress as this project unfolds, Thanks -Mike  

ra1 New Member

I would like to design a trimaran at some point so your project interests me. I come from a modeling background but I have no experience designing boats. Right now I am trying to modify a flying dutchman to a trimaran to get some practical experience on a smaller scale. I am interested in a collaboration if possible and an update on your design progress. Thanks, Radu  

Guardian, One of the better ways to begin, as with all design, is to go to a boatyard and study the subject. Where are the masts located on typical multis? Where are the daggerboards/whatever in relation to the mast? Id there a formula you can conceive for mast height vs total beam? Look at section shapes, foil shapes and sizes, rig shapes and sizes, and so on. Then try looking in your local library for books. Most will cover only monhull design, but the principles are the same, and if you have done your "yard-work" properly, you'll be all set. Enjoy the homework. Steve  

brian eiland Senior Member

Sailing Rig Guardian said: Hi all I am new here so be gentle But I have designed and but a few boats, just small fresh water flat bottom bass-style boats, But I have always wanted a trimaran. The one from Waterworld finally set the hook and reeled me in sorta speak . I was thinking some thing 60' LAO, and 85' tall, and about 30' wide. I want to use my own plans, but I know nothing on how to building/designing a big ol tri, any help ? any books or boat shops willing to take on an apprentice learner ? ( I live in Sarasota, Fl). I love the whole collapsable mast thing, and the steering handles on the steering column on the boat. Does any one know who made/makes the boat they used for Waterworld trimaran ? I also wanted to equip mine with the automatic ( with a flick of a lever) sail unflurring. Thanks for any help in advanced, Thanks, -Mike Click to expand...

I have a marina a few miles from my house, along with Donzi MFG., WellCraft, and Chris Craft with in miles of each other. The hull design shouldn't be to big of a problem, the the whole rigging thing that makes me twitch ! I dont want a conventional "steering wheel" for my boat something a little more exotic. Is there any way to obtain croos sectional views of the Trimaran designed by Marc van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prevost ? If I had that Then I could go from there , as far a relative location for all the "stuff", a.k.a. the main mast, sponsons, rigging, etc...  

tspeer Senior Member

Instead of modifying a Flying Dutchman, you might look for a used beach catamaran and convert that to a trimaran. The whole point of mulithulls is they allow you to use narrow hulls that have no form stability of their own. This reduces the wave drag and makes up for the extra wetted area of multiple hulls. Starting with a monohull gives you the worst of both worlds. I don't think you'll really learn much about multihulls that way. With a beach cat, you can use the hulls as trimaran amas and make a new center hull. A 5.5m catamaran with its typical sail rig results in an almost perfect match as a half-scale model of an 11m cruising trimaran. Similar Bruce number, displacement/length, etc. Or you can use one of the catamaran hulls as the main hull and build new amas for it. Then you'd have something like Frank Bethwaite's HPV (See his book, "High Performance Sailing").  

Guardian, You will not be able to get "cross-section" views of the hulls from MVP-VLP. THey are in the business of selling cutting-edge designs, and guard their technology carefully Hence the "yard-work" suggestion Steve  

PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

Fooling around with an old beach cat or other near spent hull to understand relationships and play with technology could be interesting, but you'll gain much more usable information and ability if you get an education. Mail order, night courses, collage, book after book on the various subjects will go a lot longer towards your goals of penning (mousing?) a design then butting your head against things you don't currently understand. There are hundreds of books on the subject that will provide you with the tools to develop your designing skills. The same goes for building, styles, techniques, materials, etc. If you have a load of money and are interested in learning the painful way, then you may stumble onto something meaningful, but more likely you'll learn not to do something "that" way again. I learn hard too, but there's so much for you to absorb that success will be very difficult, just using the "it looks okay" method of engineering, regardless of the observation you perform at the local marinas and boat bone yards. You may have some measure of success, but you'll not understand why, and that's the whole point. The WaterWorld yacht is a dream, a fantasy for the eyes (or the producers pockets, depending on how you look at it) The grinder steering system seems a lot of energy to toss the helm down. I'd not like surfing down a 40' wave doing near 30 knots in a big blow and have to pump 20 full cranks into that thing, just to keep from broaching. You'd be well worn out before the storm was, then what? An AC contender tried a kite for down wind work and gave it up for the more typical arrangement, they may work someday, but don't hold your breath waiting. The roto sail(?) well . . . sure it's possible and I've even seen a few toys that had something similar, but do the stays go up and down with the telescoping mast or do they just unclip when the roto thingie is spinning around the mast? How about those really stout spreaders. What was the size of those things 4" around? Could have had better control of weight and windage aloft wouldn't you say? Speaking of weight what type of material could you build a telescoping stick out of, that will yank small planes out of the sky, hold up those monster spreaders and the well caged crows nest? Do you remember the shots of him cutting a line and a weight (rigged aloft) crashed down towards the deck, dragging him up into the rigging at high speed? How much weight does it take to snatch a 200 pound man off a deck and toss him into the rig like a stone? Try this, get your biggest anchors and fasten them to you main halyard and haul it up your stick while underway and see how your boat handles, then release the halyard and see what type of gear would be needed to stop that weight from punching a big old hole in the deck when it got there. You could build it, but it would sail like a slug, burdened with all that stuff used to make it transform into the various types of boats and rigs.  

You could build it, but it would sail like a slug, burdened with all that stuff used to make it transform into the various types of boats and rigs. Click to expand...

s v ugly sister Junior Member

WATERWORLD TRIMARAN - recent interest Two boats were built for the movie by Jeanneau - Lagoon in france - one was the sailing version - and the second was used as the "transformer" version - these were off-the-shelf ORMA 60' trimaran racing machines with a 45' beam - the sailing version cost $910,000. f.o.b France & the transformer version cost $810,000. f.o.b. france - the hulls - connectives etc were flown to Hawaii & assembled by a French crew of technicians - & handed over to Universal for the Ugly-fication process & installation of the working & non-working props - (eg. the telescoping boom actually worked on the transformer version - while the sailing version boom is covered with sheet metal to make it look like it is a fully extended telescoping boom) - the sailing version was operated below decks in two compartments - various sheets - halyards - topping lifts etc were operated by either 2 Lewmar handcrank #66 selftailers behind line clutches - or - 2 Harken horizontal alloy electric #74.2 monsters - standing rigging was 25mm & 30mm 1x19 316ss wire with monster turnbuckles - steering was below decks forward of the mast & hydraulic - the steering pedestal that Costner operated in the cockpit area had a hydraulic pump that was plumbed into the below deck hydraulic steering lines - I think that the neatest prop was the slicer bob-stay - the hulls were constructed of divynl closed cell core with facings of glass & carbon fiber with epoxy resin vacuum bagged - lots of epoxy/micro balloon type fairing was used on all hulls - the connectives are constructed of carbon fiber / epoxy - an upper & lower "Plate" box beam structure with thin sides - the curvature to the connectives is foam/glass/epoxy sandwitch streamlining - dagger board is aft of the forward connective - for the movie the case was stubbed off & didn't go thru deck as it would have gotten in the way of below decks line handling - the aluminum stick with rotating base measures 75 feet & was garbaged-up with heavy props & a masthead over the real masthead - the massive spreaders don't do anything for me & will be removed - the whole mast system was a weight-aloft nightmare - the diesel was a volvo 4 cyl 48 hp freshwater cooled with maxi sail drive - the boat was sailed for about 5 1/2 months for the movie & the diesel hour meter shows 720 hours - - Universal shipped the sailing version to Orlando & placed it in the WATERWORLD show for about 6 years - - the boat has been pretty well beat up & was not maintained - - I bought the boat with some of the props fron King Kona Productions (Universal) in March of 2004 - will be repairing the boat & rig & using it for cruising once its done - My son & I will be getting the boat back together - we both have experience building & cruising trimarans - - - named it UGLY SISTER as it is the uglyest sister ship of this design - - - Dale Miami  

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sharpii2 Senior Member

Trimaran Design Principles Guardian said: Hi all I am new here so be gentle But I have designed and but a few boats, just small fresh water flat bottom bass-style boats, But I have always wanted a trimaran. The one from Waterworld finally set the hook and reeled me in sorta speak . I was thinking some thing 60' LAO, and 85' tall, and about 30' wide. I want to use my own plans, but I know nothing on how to building/designing a big ol tri, any help ? any books or boat shops willing to take on an apprentice learner ? ( I live in Sarasota, Fl). I love the whole collapsable mast thing, and the steering handles on the steering column on the boat. Does any one know who made/makes the boat they used for Waterworld trimaran ? I also wanted to equip mine with the automatic ( with a flick of a lever) sail unflurring. Thanks for any help in advanced, Thanks, -Mike Click to expand...

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