My nephew & I are going to sail from California to Asia, PI, Australia etc.

We’ve been looking at 38’ to 40’ mono hulls but the Tri hulls & cat’s got our attention.

Now we’re looking for a trimaran 39’ plus in the $30k to $50k price range.

All the cats seem to be out of our price range & we’re wondering how a trimaran would work vs. a mono hull.

Is a trimaran faster, more stable in rough seas & easier to sail.

Also why are some of the newer cat’s made of wood composition rather than fiberglass?

In the boat size you are looking at, chances are you are confusing wood constrcution for wood core. Balsa wood is used as a core material and it it is fiberglassed over. That's all.

Upon further review... I think this is a custom build kind of thing. I know that on all the monohulls I have raced, they are all balsa core boats laminated with glass. I was reading on the F boat site about all their boats and many ofl the new cats appear to be exotic construction or wood . Farrier sells plans and you have it built, so wood costruction makes sense.

Trimarans are very stable and the modern ones are pretty darned fast as well.

But Beware, your mentioning wood is scary. And particularly at that price range -- you are not going to get much of a trimaran for $40-$50K. There are some yesteryear trimarans built of wood that would guarantee your demise in any major crossing. For example, some old Piver designs were made of plywood and then someone would buy it and glass over it. Then the glass would hold moisture in and the wood rotted and there was nothing left structurally. Not a good scene.

But, if I were to make a crossing and had my choice between a good, well-built tri or a mono, there would be no doubts -- the tri wins.

One of the main reasons is that multihulls will float. Monohulls have lead and will sink. So, if your boat somehow got holed, you would have a nice liferaft with the tri and you would be dead with the mono.

Guess that is the reason you hear horror stories of multihulls where people were stuck on their boat for weeks.

On the other hand, you don't hear stories about the monohulls -- they are gone!

Good luck,

Rick

How about something like this?

Would these be reliable for a world cruiser?



40' Norm Cross Trimaran· Year: 1984 ·

Hull Material: Fiberglass · Engine/Fuel Type: Single Diesel ·



OR

A custom modified Authur Piver/Norman Cross fast cruising trimaran professionally built of composite construction in 1983 in North Carolina. She has made two trans-Atlantic crossings safely carrying a young family with two children. She has been well maintained by her previous and present owners. All systems are presently in proper working order and much new equipment has been added recently.

40’ Custom Piver/Cross Trimaran Sloop 1983



LOA: 40’ Beam: 22’ Draft: 4’6” fin keel

Displacement: 12,000# (no ballast).

Engine: 20 hp Vetus/Mitsubishi M3-10 diesel, Hurth gearbox.

Custom built certainly would scare me. Be sure to have it surveyed by an extremely competent surveyor.

If the boat is sound and the rigging is top notch the tri will give you a lot better and faster ride, although those older designs were not up to the speeds of the modern boats.

Good luck,

Rick

I recommend a book that may help you out. Try "Outward Leg" by Trstan Jones. He sailed monohulls around the world many times and finally did it on a trimaran. Check it out.



Also, read "Adrift" and "Capsized" for a comparison of trouble at sea in a monohull and trimaran.



Don