I never stated a tri with the same width as a cat has a higher rightning moment.
You certainly did not, your education at Delft University garantees your understanding of those principles.
My post was intended towards the other readers in this thread that were indeed on the track of believing a tri had better righting moments.
my point was that if you want to make a 16ft wide tri, you could increase your rightning moment but it would only increase your performance if your floats are big enough to support that.
Absolute;y correct, at that time the tri will just become a catamaran with a 3rd hull in the centre. The only exception of course will be in very light winds where the whole boat will be balanced on its centre hull but you don't need to make a tri 16 foot wide to achieve that.
Racks would be a cheaper, lighter and more effective way to go indeed.
Wouter
