[sailingdog]

I have a trimaran, and love it... I regularly go out in weather that keeps the powerboats and most sailboats in the harbor.

Last fall, we went out in 20 knots with gusts up to 28 and 4-6' seas, and were doing 12 knots for most of the day. By the end of the day, it was blowing 27-28 knots with gusts in to the mid-30s, and 5-7' seas, with the occassional 9-10' wave to keep you on your toes.

You might want to get the following two books, if you're interested in getting a multihull: Chris White's The Cruising Multihull and Thomas Firth Jones's Multihull Voyaging.

A well-designed cruising trimaran is very difficult to capsize, and is a remarkably stable boat. Most of the stories you hear about capsized multihulls are due to operator error, and usually in a racing situation.

 

[sailingdog]

It is very difficult to do wind speed if you have to punch through 4-6' seas like that. That, and having reduced sail up, reduces your ability to sail at or above wind speed. On flat seas, that is normally quite easy to do.

Trying to go as fast as possible is generally what causes most of the multihull capsizes... and I don't plan on having mine turn turtle any time soon.

The Telstar 28 has two older siblings, the Telstar 26, which is also a folding trimaran design, and a much larger Telstar 35, but the Telstar 35 is rather rare AFAIK. If you're looking for a folding trimaran in the 36' range, you can go with either the Corsair F36, or the slightly larger Quorning Dragonfly 1200.

 

[sailingdog]

Sorry, my bad Ian... I knew that you and Corsair had parted ways, and that you did not design the C36, but that it is based on your previous designs in many ways.

I have read your site quite often in the past, and have learned quite a bit from it.

 

[sailingdog]

I'm a big admirer of Ian's work, too. I'd really like to see his F-33, but it's apparently not in production. Does anyone know how that compares to the Corsair 31?

It's bigger...

 

[sailingdog]

LOL... just read this reply... reason I didn't reply with a more thorough answer is that I've not been on a F33 yet.

You did such an awesome job comparing the Telstar 28 to the Corsair, I was rather hoping for something more enlightening! Even better, I was hoping Ian would chime in (I know you weren't looking at boats that size at the time SD).

Steve

Imasonofasailor-

Which Farrier design are you going to get?

 

[sailingdog]

It really depends on what you want to do with the boat. The F24, and F28 do not have standing head room and are really designed mainly as racers. The F27 is more a cruising design but IIRC, it doesn't have standing headroom either. The accommodations are relatively spartan—usually having only a porta-potty and camping stove.

The F31's cabin is not much bigger than that of the Telstar 28 I own, and is the first of the Farrier designs I'd consider for long-term cruising/sailing. My friend and his wife took theirs on their honeymoon cruise to the Caribbean.

The two major complaints I have with the Farrier folding system are the fact that it requires tools to fold/unfold the amas and that when the amas are retracted, the topsides are submerged—which is why almost all farrier designed trimarans are kept on moorings.

If you're going to get a custom one built, I'd highly recommend going with Airex foam for the hull and Divinylcell for the deck, and using a couple layers of kevlar in the hull laminates, on the exterior for abrasion resistance and on the interior for puncture/impact resistance.

If you have questions, let me know.