still mulling the concept

I’m thinking of having an optional trimaran set-up, so I can sail my new boat without fear of dumping it. The idea is to have the trimaran part in manageable pieces that can stow inside the cockpit, and be assembled at the beach or dock. When I want to only paddle—I mean pedal—it (Mirage Drive, remember?), I’ll leave all the extra bits behind. The leeboard could be detachable.

The akas (cross arms) would be pipes that slide into sleeves built into the boat just above the sheer line.

(Like those colours, eh? ;-)

The sail is small and not strictly a junk or a lug sail; I think of it as a battened lug rig. I want to keep it simple, and really easy to reef. Loosen the halyard, tie the batten to the boom, re-tighten the halyard, and it’s done. No lazyjacks, no snotters, no parrels. The sail shape is from the “Paulsboat” that I was going to build at first, the 15’ sailing canoe that was based on this hull design but which I think is too big for me. (This boat is 13’.) I used the same sail plan as the Paulsboat but scaled it down for this boat: the Paulsboat sail is 42 square feet; this one is 25½—considerably smaller.

The amas or outrigger hulls are yet to be thought through. Could be a piece of pipe, but a simple vee-shaped pea pod strikes my fancy. Probably best vee-bottomed rather than flat-bottomed, so they don’t slap against waves... Hobie has an interesting suggestion...

Oh—P.S: I bought the plans for the "Rio Grande", to see how Jim says how to do it, so I don't screw up it. They may take their time getting to me by mail because of the time of year.

P.P.S: Forgot to say that I had a great email conversation with Chuck Leinweber, the main man at Duckworks Boatbuilder's Supply, who had built the two Rio Grande boats featured in the article about the design, one in plywood and the other in foam and glass/resin, the latter of which he said was a much lighter boat. He says I should build with 3/8" thick foam for the hull, and 1/4" foam for the decks, and says: "If you are going to use foam, but want standard durability, use light glass on the inside and both sides of the decks. By “Light” I mean 4 oz or less. I’d use 6 oz on the bottom."