The History of Trimarans:
Victor Tchetchet (1891-1974) is considered the father of the modern trimaran. He was a Russian immigrant who was born in Kiev, Ukraine and later immigrated to New York. He was also a fighter pilot during the First World War in the Czar’s Air Force. He built two trimarans while living in the US, Eggnog 1 and 2. Both boats were made of marine plywood and were about 24 feet long. Mr. Tchetchet is credited with coining the name, trimaran.
He entered the Kiev Imperial Yacht Club’s local races, but was disqualified after beating all other boats. In 1946, he entered the Marblehead Race Week and although he did not perform well, he overcame the prejudice against multihulls that arose against Herreshoff’s Amaryllis in 1876 when he beat the fleet at the New York Yacht Club’s Centennial Regatta. That same year, he established the International Multihull Boat Racing Association.
About Trimarans:
The first trimarans were built by indigenous Polynesians almost 4,000 years ago, and much of the current terminology is inherited from them. Multihullsailboats gained favor during the 1960's and 1970's. Modern recreational trimarans are rooted in the same homebuilt tradition as other multihulls but there are also a number of production models on the market.
There are three terms that describe the components of a trimaran. The terms come from the Malay and Micronesian language. They originally applied to a Polynesian boat with a main canoe and two outriggers. The word, vaca, can be roughly translated as canoe and refers to the main hull. The term, ama, refers to the outriggers or the two outer hulls. And, the term, aka, refers to the framework or deck that connects the amas to the vaca.
Trimarans have several advantages over monohulls. Given two boats of the same length, the trimaran has a shallower draft, a wider beam and is lighter than a typical monohull.
Because they are shallow draft, they can go in shallower waters then most monohulls. Where as, most monohulls have a long keel, a multihull is able to use a light-weight, retractable centerboard to prevent lateral or sideways drifting. The centerboard can be raised or lowered as needed while sailing. And, while in shallow waters, it can be raised to reduce draft.
Also, if one does accidently get into shallow water as the tide is going out, there is not the same risk of tipping over and filling with water as a keeled boat has. As a matter of fact, a trimaran can be hauled-out or beached for painting or repairs simply by going aground on a level beach, allowing the tide to go out and supporting the amas.
A wider beam offers more stability, or level sailing, without heeling from side to side while gybing or tacking into the wind. This makes for a more comfortable living space, which does not require constantly being strapped in while cooking or sleeping due to the rolling motion or angle of the boat.
Typicaly, a trimaran will heel 10%. Under the same conditions, a catamaran will heel twice that and a monohull will heel five times that amount!
Unlike a monohull, most trimarans are nearly impossible to sink or to flip or roll sideways given a reasonable degree of caution. This is due to the greater resistance to rolling that the amas offer.
If a multihull does become capsized, it will remain afloat. Where as a capsized or "holed" monohull will typically sink. A person can survive on the transverse, floating hull while waiting for help. (Ours has a door on the underside of the starboard aka, so that a person can go in or out, while waiting for help, to seek food or shelter. But, since ours is designed with a floating mast, it is not likely to go go all of the way over in the first place and can be righted using a dinghy and rope.)
Most trimaran designs are considered nearly unsinkable because even if the main hull were to fill with water, the flotation of one ama is enough to keep the entire vessel afloat.
A wide beam also gives a trimaran much better straight-line sailing performance than a monohull although tacking and gybing can be a bit trickier. (Yet, with a rotating mast, there is less need to tack or gybe - the mast rotates so you don’t have to.)
The wide akas provide additional deck space on top and berth, counter and storage space inside. And, the amas add additional storage space.
It is also worth mentioning that the wider base of a multihull increases the angle of the shrouds from the mast, thus reducing reliance on spreaders and increasing the stability of the mast.
In addition, since trimarans do not need a heavily weighted keel, they are lighter and faster than a typical monohull and require less sail area to push it through the water. (Trimarans generally travel at speeds of 12 to 30 knots.)
Safety of Trimarans:
The greater speed of trimarans can become important for safety when weather conditions are bad or threaten to deteriorate because the boat can quickly leave the area of danger.
However, trimarans have been known to flip end-over-end or pitch-pole during a storm while racing. Yet, according to Chris White, author of The Cruising Multihull, “Ninety-eight percent of the time, you could not capsize a good multihull designed for offshore cruising if you set out to do it on purpose; the energy required to turn the boat over is just not available.”
So, White did a survey to find out just how many deaths occurred in multihulls (catamarans and trimarans) in a period of 29 years, from 1960-1989. He found that over all, there were 28 deaths. Of these, 13 deaths were racing related. According to White, these accidents generally happen, “Where the desire to win overcomes the better judgment of sensible seamanship”. He goes on to say that the ratio of capsized racing multihulls to cruising multihulls is 10 to 1, which would suggest that multihulls are more likely to be capsized during racing conditions. Of these, three men went overboard, one committed suicide, 2 died of unknown causes and 7 died in 3 capsizes.
Of the remaining 15 deaths, 6 deaths were from collisions or explosions on two catamarans, 4 were on a catamaran that sank in a gale and 1 death was from unknown causes.
The remaining 4 were caused when a multihull was capsized. Three of these accidents took place on catamarans that were 30’ long. In the only fatal accident that involved a none-racing trimaran, the event took place during Hurricane Amy. The skipper died of medical complications, but the crew was saved. This leaves only 3 actual deaths from capsizing - and none of those occurred in trimarans.