I'm about to have my first F-boat ride tomorrow (an F-28). I've spent the last few weeks reviewing all the info on the Farrier site and the Yahoo group. I'm sure I'll love the ride, but I'm kinda stunned at the cost to get into these boats. I'm sure they're worth the money and they seem to hold value well from the boat ads I'm reading, but what exactly makes them more expensive to build than similar sized monos, cats and other tris?



Mike.

Hey Mike-



I would double/triple check that "hold their value" thought. In todays post on the FCA site Tim stated that his F31 cost him $170,000.00 around four years ago and now it will bring around $100,000. There is a cost to sail one of these...



The reason the boats bring so much is the demand for them based on the ease of sailing one plus the organized worldwide sailing of fboats. In this years nationals there were sailors from AUS competing alongside sailors from California and New England...



Corsair has reasons for charging what they charge to make a new one??? I don't know what the reasons are. Before I bought one I would go to Ian Farrier's site and read all thats there. There are alot of used Fboats on the market and some have been there for over two years...



The main reason I bought my F25c was because its quick , made of carbon fiber [cooked in an oven to cure], weighs about 1700lbs, and fun to sail and there were 48 total made. Therefore demand for this specialist Farrier designed boat will probably remain the same or increase. Plus mine was made by the builder's father and was sailed around five times total before he had a stroke and parked it. So its like new boat with 0 wear.



I crewed on a F31R a couple of years ago and like the way it sailed, went together in about an hour, stability, etc. The same is true for all Farrier designs I have sailed on. The F28 is a nice stable cruising platform that sails very well. Its deck is by far the best of the F24,F25,F27,& F31s I have sailed. The F28R is a one design and they competed in Key West last year.



I guess the bottom line answer to your question is that they just do cost alot. And as long as people continue to pay the cost of buying one will stay...Even with the depreciation on the big ones they still bring the cost of a house...



Torbjorn said it best in Multihulls Magazine "Farriers boat in a box works quite well"...



thommerrill

F25c 009 Charisma

ARC22 2234 Widowmaker

FMS SC20 57

First - because the folding tri is the best possible sailing boat between 22 and 36 feet, combining speed, trailerability, reasonable internal space and simplicity.



Second - Almost no competition. Ian Farrier invented the folding system and patented the idea. The patent expired recently and the first serious competitors are just starting to appear.



If you have time, also check the Catri 27 - the folding tri I decided for, after a similar research.



Cheers,

Luiz Schechter

Catri 27 R

Check out the Elan series of boats , they start out at 48000, and you get what you want in your boat, and how you want it. And they are very very stable when folded on the water.

To compare the price to that of a similar lenght mono hull...well, with a Tri, you get 3 hulls, plus the folding mechanisms, plus the rotating carbon mast, and the tramps. All that stuff costs more to make than the average mono hull.

The good news is you take it home instead of paying for a slip at a marina. Even with the added set up time you will still cover more water on the Tri, as you will be sailing twice as fast as most monos, and you can trailer it to a new area to sail, instead of seeing the same old stuff every time you go out.

I'm getting one...someday.

Timbo, hidy, how about an all carbon boat with 25 kts built in for 84-85000 and takes 20 to 30 min from trailer to sailing,and thats the boat motor and trailer.

How about an all carbon F25C for $65,000, with Randy Smyth to help me sail it? That's what I'm talking about!

Luiz-

I've benn scrubbing, rubbing, waxing my tri for the past week. Its almost ready to go for the season. How's your boat coming along???

thom

Thom,

The boat is waiting for the mast. The designer´s carbon mast is not a possibility anymore. I learned that his shipyard in Europe went bankrupt and had to order a Brazilian aluminum mast in Sao Paulo.

Besides, the boat is being finished without help from the designer, who simply stopped sending plans and specs. I paid for them more then three years ago, so this was a very unpleasant surprise.

I still think the boat is great, but the designer is certainly unreliable - clever, but can not be depended on. I guess we will learn a lot more about his doings in the specialized press very soon.

Luiz

LUIZ, I am interested in purchasing a catri 27 from Aegean marine in the states, do you think there will be problems with the catris concerning Aldis. I read he is accusing his business partner of selling his foil ideas to competitors and now you say the yard has gone bust in Latvia.
I'd love to hear from someone with first hand experience of sailing one. It must be extremely frustrating for you. Maybe Aegean can help!

Taswegian

You are mixing things that are not connected.

The US shipyard builds a fully licensed and proved product and has minimal or no connection with the designer nowadays. The only possible inconvenient for them is the indirect effect of the designer's bad business reputation.

Their boat remains great and speaks for itself. All people who sailed it told me that they loved everything and that it is remarkably fast, stable and seaworthy.

Still, I have not had the oportunity to sail the boat and yes, it is frustrating.

About help from Aegean, although they never shared technical information before, they offered help when they learned the nature and depth of the problems. The offer came a bit too late to generate any practical effect, though.

It is just too bad that they were not in business when I started my boat.

If you want more details or other related information, please write directly to my email sysfx@yahoo.com

Luiz

Great. Thanks for that. I'll definately be in touch. Good Luck with the rest of the completion. It will be worth it in the end I'm sure!

Any updates on your Catri Luiz?


Mike.

Not as much as I would like.

My self-designed rigging is ready (thanks to Mike Leneman's kind advice and Barracuda Nautica's (Brazilian rigger) work. The to-do list is small now: sails, assembly of folding system/deck hardware and back seat.

This month I plan to send the boat to be surveyed, finished and tested in Rio under the supervision of naval engineer and multihull specialist Ronaldo Fazaneli Migueis (www.arqnav.com.br). He will also review the structural plans.

This step became necessary after the designer refused to certify that his plans yield a seaworthy vessel, refused to provide documentation necessary to register the boat and refused to guaranty his work in general - all in addition to his failure to provide the full set of plans (paid in full).

The independent survey and the review of the plans will protect me in the event of a structural problem. If it happens (I hope not) I want to know for sure if the cause is poor construction/materials or wrong design/calculation.

The Catri concept is great but I should never have done business with its designer. He may be a good engineer (I think so, but will only be sure after his plans are verified) but my experience is that he is unreliable for business. He is also extremely skilful in disguising his wrongdoings and distorting the facts and the truth in his benefit.

Luiz

Hello Luiz-

I lost my harddrive so I lost your email as well. I'm very sorry your tri scenario has turned out this way. From the pics you sent what you have so far appears sound but as you said the truth is in the details.

I went out yesterday in a moderate breeze and ended up plaining out for about two hours. Just two on board. My crew is unexperienced at on the F25c but has alot of time on F27s. The weight difference between the two tris that transfers into speed as well as other addictive qualities had his eyes wide open to about the size of coke bottles...

I look forward to you posting a few stories of your own sooner than later. There can't be that much wrong with your boat when you consider the builder you used. I bet you are sailing by Christmas.

thom

Thom,

I am sending you an email so you can keep in touch.

After the Yahoo Catriowner group was founded I discovered more things that can go wrong. The main discovery, however, was that the designer never finishes his projects and does not guaranty anything. This is the main reason why I decided to survey, finish and test the boat in a more sophisticated environnemnt.

I hope you are right about sailing before the year end, but after four years who knows?

Luiz