I am considering building a Farrier folding tri. I realize I will not
save much money but boat building has gotten me so I just wanna do it.
My old 28' S2 monohull will allow me to sail while I am building.
Here are the questions for any tri sailors.

I plan to keep her out of the water. So, at what length of boat would
you consider it such a hassle to step the mast, unfold etc that you
would eventually put her in the water for good?

Do you take advantage of her extreme shoal draft much?

While cruising do you really notice increased speed over monohulls?

Is the limited amount of fuel you can carry for an outboard a problem?
(compared to the several day amount of fuel for a diesel in a monohull)

Plans are available for both standard width for trailering (8.5') and
the X version which is 9.5' wide folded. They say a simple permit is
needed for this wide load but I have not checked for FL. What is your
impression of this?

Possibilities include:

1. Buying an older F27 and refitting her with new standing rigging and
new sails and fixing any stress cracking. I estimate purchase price of
$55,000 with over $15000 for sails and rigging, etc. Problem is
getting the $55k together at one time.

2. Build either F-9 or F-9AX (31')

3. Build the newer F-32

Building would be done with the vertical foam strip method. The
folding parts can be purchased for about $15000 or built.

Any thoughts? I realize building does not save money (I know from
experience). I tend toward very spartan cruising where I consider a
porta-potti to be decadent so interior furnishings are not a major
issue for me. If I build, I will not worry about re-sale value.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I am considering building a Farrier folding tri. I realize I will not
save much money but boat building has gotten me so I just wanna do it.
My old 28' S2 monohull will allow me to sail while I am building.
Here are the questions for any tri sailors.

I plan to keep her out of the water. So, at what length of boat would
you consider it such a hassle to step the mast, unfold etc that you
would eventually put her in the water for good?

I had an F9A that was on the marina as I found getting on and off the
trailer too much for each sail - may be different if you plan to race and
have a real crew. My wife strongly objected to the trailer hassles.

On the other hand a fellow clubmember with an F31 leaves it on the trailer
at the club with rig up but folded and has done for many years - he's a keen
racer and usually has a competent crew.

While all the systems Farrier has worked out for mast raising etc work and
could just be done in the time he states it's a very busy period. With a
small/family crew I'd look at a smaller version (F25/F27/F28)


Do you take advantage of her extreme shoal draft much?

Depends where you sail- here off the northern east Australian coast with the
Great Barrier Reef, if you don't have shallow draft you miss most of the
good spots.


While cruising do you really notice increased speed over monohulls?

Difficult to answer- they are much faster than monos and cruising in light
airs is magnificent. In stronger breezes while cruising I found I reefed
early to keep the spray down eg reefed main and no 3 jib in 25 knots to
windward- tacked about 75-80 degrees and averaged 7-8 knots. Once averaged
19 knots on an 8 mile leg reaching in a race but the leeward halfof the boat
was pretty wet.


Is the limited amount of fuel you can carry for an outboard a problem?
(compared to the several day amount of fuel for a diesel in a monohull)

My 9.9hp 4 stroke used just less than a litre per hour- when cruising I
lashed a couple of fuel containers in the nets so had 50 litres. Lasted a
month. Water was more difficult and only lasted 2 weeks.


Plans are available for both standard width for trailering (8.5') and
the X version which is 9.5' wide folded. They say a simple permit is
needed for this wide load but I have not checked for FL. What is your
impression of this?

Can't answer- I had the 2.5 metre wide version- just over 8 ft. Towing was
no problem with a suitable vehicle.


Possibilities include:

1. Buying an older F27 and refitting her with new standing rigging and
new sails and fixing any stress cracking. I estimate purchase price of
$55,000 with over $15000 for sails and rigging, etc. Problem is
getting the $55k together at one time.

2. Build either F-9 or F-9AX (31')

3. Build the newer F-32

Building would be done with the vertical foam strip method. The
folding parts can be purchased for about $15000 or built.

Any thoughts? I realize building does not save money (I know from
experience). I tend toward very spartan cruising where I consider a
porta-potti to be decadent so interior furnishings are not a major
issue for me. If I build, I will not worry about re-sale value.

In general the smaller the boat the greater the fun. I'd look at the smaller
sisters.

Peter HK

I'm a former F28R owner--a boat that I really loved, but sold to be
able to afford a cruising catamaran. I did like the shoal draft
capability for nosing into shallow coves in Puget Sound. The mast
rigging setup and launching is really pretty manageable and well
designed, and works well for all sizes of F-boats. I even did it solo a
few times, though it's easier and less stressful with a helper. Fuel
capacity was never an issue with a parsimonious 4 stroke Honda outboard
and two gas tanks which fit neatly in open lockers under the cockpit
seats. You definitely should be able to find an F-27 for less than $55k
if you're willing to do a bit of reconditioning.

While building an F-boat is doable, and many have done, don't
underestimate the amount of work required, and the possibility that
once you're finished you may have trouble seeing past the things you
wish you had done better. And while it may be an advantage to spread
your costs out over time, you probably won't end up saving much over
the cost of a complete boat.

Best of luck with your decision(s).

Aaron Tinling
s/v Sweet Destiny
www.navagear.com - the tools and tech blog for sailors

) writes:

While cruising do you really notice increased speed over monohulls?

generally catamarans and trimarans are faster on some points of sail in
some conditions and slower at other times. overall they may be no faster
or slower than a monohull of equal length depending on the wind speed and
direction over the course sailed. with theri smaller hulls they are
lighter displacment than monohulls of the same length so cannot carry as
much cargo. one advantage of mulithulls for cruising is they don't heel
over as much as monohulls. catamarans heel over very little.
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