Safety Features of Small Trimarans



Posted: Thursday, October 30, 2008

by
ID Theft Help 911

Small trimarans are safe ... perhaps safer than other kinds of small sailboats. This is because of their unique design, which offers safety in both its sailing features, and within the trimaran design itself.

First, it's a fact that small trimarans (and all trimarans in general) do not carry around a lead ballast in order to balance the boat. This means that this particular weight doesn't reside in the bottom of any hull. Should any one of the boat's 3 hulls ever become damaged, they won't have the weight of a ballast dragging the entire craft to the bottom of the sea ... where it would begin serving as a new home for a variety of fish species.

As a matter of fact, most small trimarans contain a number of air-tight compartments within each of their 3 hulls. In addition to providing valuable storage space for trimarans, the amas and main hull frequently have air-sealed pockets tucked away in certain portions. They'd work to "support" the boat, and keep it from being totally swamped, even if the main hull was damaged badly.

Small trimarans also offer safety in their wide beam. Their outriggers produce a more stable ride than most other types of sailboats. The boats don't typically don't "heel over" when sailing. But this also means there is less chance the boat is going to capsize or pitch pole. But if a trimaran ever does overturn, it's safety features are usually demonstrated even further.

How so?

There are pictures of trimarans scattered here and there on the Internet that show them floating upside down, while their sailors sit on the overturned vessels, waiting to be rescued. After seeing such pictures, how many individuals think to ask why they don't see the same types of photos featuring monohulls? The reason is simple. There are a lot fewer pics of monohulls in distress situations because they usually sink. There are no picture taking opportunities for boats that disappear from the water's surface.

Small trimarans are also lighter than monohulls of similar length. They're easier to tack and jibe. This allows them to be much faster sailboats. This higher performance means if a storm comes up while sailing offshore, then a small trimaran will be able to get into shore, while other boats are still fighting big waves further out.

I recently read about a trimaran that had been sailing offshore, and hit an unknown object in the water. The main hull filled up with water to a point, but the boat stayed stable and drifted until the Coast Guard was able to come and rescue the distressed boat and its sailors.

If that boat had been a monohull, it almost surely would have filled with water and sunk ... and rather quickly at that. The crew might not have even been able to send off the distress signal and call for help. And even if they had, they probably would have had to use a life raft, or life vests, until help arrived.

Given that scenario, wouldn't you rather be in a trimaran? I would ... every time.

--------

Joe Farinaccio "the small tri guy" blogs about these unique sailboats at SmallTrimarans.com. He offers info, free downloads and other resources. For example, to see pictures of one famous small tri Joe recently blogged about visit http://www.smalltrimarans.com/Magic-Hempel-Small-Trimaran.html
This Article has been viewed 277 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.