I've got two old catamarans that will combine to make a 20' trimaran. A Hobiecat is most of it, and a hull from a larger cat will be mounted down the center. Then modifications to the seating area will follow once it's seaworthy. Hopefully by April.
fabbing a trimaran
- Thread starter Wildcat
- Start date
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I'm not widening it for a few reasons. It would have to fold or slide in together to be trailerable. That might lead to structural failure and would probably look dogpatchish. It's 8 feet wide as it was made, so it has a good width as it is, but most trimarans are really wide, about 12 feet or more for a 20 foot boat. It will keep it structural strength plus get some more as the 3 new beams (not shown) brace everything together more ridgidly. And if the experiment doesn't work, I just remove the center hull and it's a Hobie16 again.
very cool. keep us posted, ok?
My inlaws race hobies, theyre pretty fun.
F-I-L has a few 16's a couple 14's and a tiger, recently sold his 20'
Just curious about what you are trying to accomplish by making a tri, they seem pretty capable as-is.
Dont get me wrong, seems like a cool project.
BTW, i think your center hull is an 18' not 20... the 20's are much sleeker, unless its an ooooold 20...
F-I-L has a few 16's a couple 14's and a tiger, recently sold his 20'
Just curious about what you are trying to accomplish by making a tri, they seem pretty capable as-is.
Dont get me wrong, seems like a cool project.
BTW, i think your center hull is an 18' not 20... the 20's are much sleeker, unless its an ooooold 20...
I always have 3 or 4 guests wanting to go out sailing. The Hobie16 gets bogged down and won't get up to good speed with 4 people. The extra hull will add 2 or 3 people to my passenger list. It's from a Gcat, a 5.7 meter, that's right at 19 feet I think. It's a deep V design which is reputed to be stable and fast. Once I get the mounting dimensions just right after getting it in the water, it'll get deckplates mounted between the hulls and seats along the side instead of a trampoline. Sailing all day crosslegged on the tramp is rough on my old back. I plan to cruise in comfort at a respectable speed.
I'll post pics from the lake when it gets tried out.
I'll post pics from the lake when it gets tried out.
Good idea, but making the center hull easily removable is a little out of the range of my engineering expertise. This contraption will be bullet proof.
Got the beams attached to the main hull and set it in place. Next they get bolted to the side hulls. The small beam on the front is just laid there for now. The 2 large beams do the major work. The trailer needs modded to carry it, the rollers have to be about a foot higher.
front and rear beams from underneath.
Got the beams attached to the main hull and set it in place. Next they get bolted to the side hulls. The small beam on the front is just laid there for now. The 2 large beams do the major work. The trailer needs modded to carry it, the rollers have to be about a foot higher.
front and rear beams from underneath.
This thing is taking much longer than planned. Got the trailer fabbed up and am going to finish up the mounts over the next week or two. Then it finally gets tested over Memorial day weekend.
It's all set for the water next weekend. Checked the rigging and gave it a bath. Now I can back to working on bikes.
Just my luck, finally getting it done, and we've got rainy weather for awhile, right through Memorial Day weekend.
Got some pics of the maiden voyage in June. We put it through the paces and had to head back early to the boat ramp because of a storm brewing, but it did great, and we were hauling butt when we caught the gusty wind before the thunderstorm.
