Checking-in with Ben Algera as he builds a boat for a future Watertribe event

With the main hull now successfully launched and then paddled briefly with his wife and kids, Ben has taken the first important step towards the completion of his XCR.

Sailing and paddling trips await Ben with this boat as it can seemlessly morph from a straight-up decked tripping canoe to a very nice sailing trimaran in minutes.

There are all sorts of photos of Ben’s build progress at his Blog site.  http://www.bensboats.blogspot.com/ 

Take a few moments to scan through his entries and you can see for yourself how easy it is to build an XCR of your own.

Posted: September 16th, 2009 under Canoes, Paddled, Sailing, Sailing Multihulls, Trimarans, Uncategorized.
Comments: 1

Underside hull work is complete and the boat has been turned over, right side up. The pictures can speak for themselves.

The boat looks spectacular, guys!

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Posted: July 12th, 2009 under Catamarans, Sailing Multihulls.
Comments: 3

The Athens build team has completed the construction and installation of their bridgedeck, the forward bulkhead and the two transom bulkheads.

With the installation of the most recent elements on the Gato Especial,  the builders are now ready to fabricate the hull turning structure that will stabilize the boat for the big rollover.

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Posted: May 11th, 2009 under Catamarans, Sailing Multihulls.
Comments: 1

Latest photos of the transition from two hulls to one boat

The guys in Greece are serious about their boat building . They just keep moving along at a steady clip, working to complete their new catamaran. They have installed the bridgedeck installation support strip and fixed the hulls to the correct spacing for the complete joining of the Gato Especial hulls.

Posted: May 5th, 2009 under Catamarans, Sailing Multihulls.
Comments: none

Previous boat building experience and excellent craftsmanship have gotten this project off to a fast start

The construction sequence is moving along smoothly now in Athens, Greece as the builders are ready to join the two hulls with a set of bulkheads and the bridgedeck.

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Posted: April 30th, 2009 under Catamarans, Sailing Multihulls.
Comments: none

A safe, speedy solo cruising craft for adventurous souls

After a lot of input from readers of this site, I have completed the modifications to the Solo16 S design that reflect many of their
expressed interests.

The Solo16 S now has a bit more displacement as a direct response to suggestions for the use of a small 2 hp outboard and some spare fuel. At the same time, the vaka hull was given additional beam above the waterline and the shear was raised some to allow for mods to the amas.

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Posted: April 22nd, 2009 under Sailing Multihulls, Trimarans.
Comments: 5

The Gato build in Athens, Greece has moved another step forward. I just received the second batch of photos of the boat in construction and Wow!, these guys are moving right along.

There had been a very small delay as they waited for their epoxy delivery, but now that it has arrived, they are cooking along with real pace.

The hull panels have all been assembled and they have the first three panels on each side of the hull in place and wired together within the building supports.

The joints of the lower hull panels have been filleted nicely and a layer of glass has been applied, as well.

The builders are now ready to wire-in the upper side panels of the hull and apply a thickened epoxy line to the joint between the lower side panels and the spray chines. They will then fillet the joint between the upper hull panels and the chine panels. After that, they are ready to glass the rest of the interior of the hull.

Before the port hull is set aside in order to build the mirror version starboard hull, a shear clamp is screwed into place on both upper hull panels and a series of temporary thwarts are installed to keep everything steady and in place.

Posted: March 25th, 2009 under Catamarans, Sailing Multihulls.
Comments: none

Construction has begun on a new Gato Especial in Athens, Greece. My client, Alexis and his father have already cut out all the hull panels, as well as the building forms.

The forms have been aligned, leveled and pinned together for rigidity.

At this point, they will be butt joining the hull panels together and getting everything ready to stitch the hull together.

They have chosen to build an 8’6″ (2.62 meter) version of the Gato and will be using the boat to cruise the islands of the Aegean.

I’ll be posting regular updates as they progress with the build.

Chris Ostlind

Lunada Design

Posted: March 17th, 2009 under Catamarans, Sailing Multihulls.
Comments: 1

Solo Trimaran Style With a Two Crew Twist

Perhaps the title, Solo16 Sport, is a bit of misnomer with regards to this posting today. While this trimaran is an extension of the design aesthetics and thinking that led to the other two boats in the series, the Solo12 and the Solo14, it takes a bit of a turn with the ability to carry a crew of two by design.

While the Solo16 was planned as a logical, next-step design path for the 12′ and 14′ boats, it was pushed a bit in its development by a request from the Sailing Anarchy Mulithulls Forum for a very stable trimaran for the posting member and his handicapped daughter. He was looking for a boat that would provide a significant degree of stability while sailing and still be able to give the two of them a lively degree of speed and performance. The copy below comes directly from the letter I wrote in answer to the query.

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Posted: March 5th, 2009 under Sailing Multihulls, Trimarans.
Comments: 7

Another Trimaran/Skiff … But With More Power

Well, you had to know this would happen…

When the Montage Skiff/Trimaran was introduced, the Lunada Design website was absolutely flooded with an ocean of page hits every day right after the article was posted. I received several dozen personal query letters regarding the boat and sizeable slice of them were directed at the potential of a bigger version of the Montage.

The concept of being able to build your own boat and rig it with a used mast and possibly even used sails, (if they are in good enough condition) had struck a chord with the homebuilding community. The creation of a larger version of the Montage would take the specified rig choices up into the much more commonly found beach cat rig sizes and make the business of finding a used rig in great shape, a whole lot easier. After pencilling a collection of thoughts and running some rough numbers on the potential, the idea came into focus as the 18′ Collage.

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Posted: March 3rd, 2009 under Sailing Multihulls, Trimarans.
Comments: 10