Turning Windsprint Into Trimaran
Well, I finally finished turning my Windsprint into a trimaran. Tomorrow or
Monday I should be able to get her on the lake and take a trial sail.
The beam of my trimaran is eight feet. The amas (floats or pontoons) are 12
feet long and one foot square at the middle section. Very pronounced rocker.
Making up the amas was the easy part. The hard part was fashioning the akas
and attaching everything. I am using two by fours tapered at the ends and
bolted to the amas. Each aka is lashed to the original hull. I can assemble
it in my driveway and then go to the lake or Puget Sound.
What I expect is that I'll have a Windsprint which is extremely stable and
still maneuverable. I should be able to take full advantage of the 120 sq.
ft. sail plan. I should be able to install some kind of comfortable seating
arrangement in the main hull instead of lounging around on the bottom. Some
will recall that I modified my Windsprint to include some decking, so I'll
have the deck to sit on as well as the amas. I have not installed netting.
Under sail, only one ama should actually touch water, the other being
slightly lifted, not so much because of the force of the wind as the outside
hulls are a few inches higher than the main hull.
What I don't know is whether or not the dagger board and rudder, standard for
the Windsprint, will be enough lateral plane to make her sail well. Will she
tack?
Anyway, I am writing this all up for Ducksworth E-zine. I have a friend with
a good quality digital camera so I will get some pictures to go with the
article.
Lastly, I am also in the middle of building a small skiff. It is similar in
design to Cabin Boy, just under eight feet by four feet. But it is built slab
sided with some rocker. With the fuller bottom I'm calling her Cabin Girl.
Anyway, it will go on top of my Jeep and allow me to splash down in the many
lakes and bays in these (Pacific Northwest) parts. This little boat is made
up almost entirely of left over wood and the sides are from a project I
abandoned over a year ago. The plywood still had some life in it.
Stay tuned for an update on how Windsprint Tri works.
MIke Masten
Monday I should be able to get her on the lake and take a trial sail.
The beam of my trimaran is eight feet. The amas (floats or pontoons) are 12
feet long and one foot square at the middle section. Very pronounced rocker.
Making up the amas was the easy part. The hard part was fashioning the akas
and attaching everything. I am using two by fours tapered at the ends and
bolted to the amas. Each aka is lashed to the original hull. I can assemble
it in my driveway and then go to the lake or Puget Sound.
What I expect is that I'll have a Windsprint which is extremely stable and
still maneuverable. I should be able to take full advantage of the 120 sq.
ft. sail plan. I should be able to install some kind of comfortable seating
arrangement in the main hull instead of lounging around on the bottom. Some
will recall that I modified my Windsprint to include some decking, so I'll
have the deck to sit on as well as the amas. I have not installed netting.
Under sail, only one ama should actually touch water, the other being
slightly lifted, not so much because of the force of the wind as the outside
hulls are a few inches higher than the main hull.
What I don't know is whether or not the dagger board and rudder, standard for
the Windsprint, will be enough lateral plane to make her sail well. Will she
tack?
Anyway, I am writing this all up for Ducksworth E-zine. I have a friend with
a good quality digital camera so I will get some pictures to go with the
article.
Lastly, I am also in the middle of building a small skiff. It is similar in
design to Cabin Boy, just under eight feet by four feet. But it is built slab
sided with some rocker. With the fuller bottom I'm calling her Cabin Girl.
Anyway, it will go on top of my Jeep and allow me to splash down in the many
lakes and bays in these (Pacific Northwest) parts. This little boat is made
up almost entirely of left over wood and the sides are from a project I
abandoned over a year ago. The plywood still had some life in it.
Stay tuned for an update on how Windsprint Tri works.
MIke Masten