THE
POWER OF MULTIHULLS
For the past few years pressure from readers was
gradually building, asking for articles about power
catamarans. As far back as 1982 we had a report that
Tacoma Boatbuilding Company had a commission to design a
mega-catamaran for a client in Egypt. The resulting yacht
measured 99 feet, had a top speed of 50 knots, carried 22
guests and cost $5 million. Since we have very few
subscribers in Egypt, or for that matter anywhere with a
loose $5 million, we did not classify the subject as
“general interest” for publication. There was
the increasing number of catamaran and a few trimaran
ferries (see cover of Jan/Feb 1990), and a small number
of private yacht designs, mainly from Prout, Tennant,
Crowther, Hughes, Jeantot, et al. E
|
 Contents of Premier Issue
|
The first serious attempt to marry twin hulls and powerheads
came from Glacier
Bay in 1988. Since then others have embraced the idea of creating
fast,
stable, economical, comfortable-in-any-weather powerboats which,
inevitably,
led to catamarans.
The United States Sailboat Show and Powerboat Show in Annapolis
are reliable
gauges of what can be expected to come onto the market. For the
past 8 years
MULTIHULLS organized the sailing Multihull Lagoon, and as a
result, the
exhibits of catamarans and trimarans grew from 5 to over 30.
While in the past
it was hard to spot a twin hull among the myriad of monohulls, it
is now a
very visible section of the show where all the multihulls gather.
The benefits
are multifold. Visitors to the show take the beeline to the
Multihull Lagoon
as soon as they arrive at the City Dock. How do we know that?
It’s simple.
There is no parking available anywhere in Annapolis during boat
show time.
Visitors leave their cars at the Naval Academy stadium outside
the city and
shuttle buses are put into service to bring them to the show.
When a short
lull at our MM tent is interrupted by an onslaught of visitors,
we cheerfully exclaim: “Another bus has arrived. Let’s
get to work!”
Based on the success of the Multihull Lagoon for sailboats, show
management
approached me two years ago and asked to organize the same for
powerboats. I
wasn’t ready because I felt that the industry wasn’t
ready. Last year there
were three power catamarans at the United States Powerboat Show.
Hardly enough for a Lagoon.
But, before I said “no” again, I took a month-long trip
to visit power
multihull manufacturers on the East Coast and did some telephone
surveys
elsewhere. To make a long report into a short story, as of this
writing there
will be a Power Multihull Lagoon at the show in Annapolis. As of
this moment, manufacturers signed contracts to exhibit a total of
27 power multihulls, and more are coming. The Day of Power
Multihulls has dawned in America.
To celebrate this power I am excited to announce the launching of
a new
magazine devoted exclusively to power multihulls. It will be
launched on
October 15 at the United States Powerboat Show – without any
fanfare.
This magazine will be very similar in nature to its older
brother, the one you
are reading now. No tons of advertising, no guilding the lillies,
no
exaggerated claims; just good reading, honest information, and
above all, down
to earth (water) attitude towards our readers. It may be a small
publication,
not backed by a publishing empire, so please bear with us while
it's growing.
In turn, we can promise you straightforward reporting that only
an independent
magazine editor can offer, who does not have to follow guidelines
set up by a
board of directors who have never been on the water. For the same
reason you
can trust the Publisher’s honesty, he does not have to
report the bottom line
to a bunch of hungry investors.
So, if you are interested in what’s happening with mastless
multihulls,
reserve your copy of the Premier Issue*, which no doubt, will
sell out and
might become a collectors’ item 20 years down the line, just
as the first
year’s issues of this magazine are now.
* Send
your name, address, $5 (3.95+1.05 p&h), and we will mail you
The POWER of MULTIHULLS in October, hot off the press.
Contents of PREMIER ISSUE
WELCOME, Editorial by Charles K Chiodi
LETTERS TO THE EDITORS
THANK YOU
WHY A CATAMARAN?
PLANING vs. DISPLACEMENT COMPARISON, by Malcolm
Tennant
SPORT FISHING CATS: Glacier Bay, Seagull,
HydroCat, Cobra, Comet, Kevlacat, Ocean Cat, Splendor Boats, Twin
Vee, World Cat.
YELLOW PAGES: List of Power Catamarans,
Manufacturers, Designers, Agents
About ENGINES
About BATTERIES
TRAWLER CATS, by Graham Pfister
WHY A TRAWLER CAT? Maryland 37, Benchmark
Express 36,
A DESIGN PORTFOLIO
WORKING CATS: Ribcat, Rapide, TomCat
UNBORN CATS: Alwoplast, Powershuttle 40, PC 32,
Jutson 50' & 69'
STRAY CATS: Carolina Cat, Euphorie 44,
Wright/Lavranos Cats
MEGA CATS: Prout Panther 64, Wave Piercers
NEXT ISSUE preview