The Drifter 17 trimaran is a fabulous-looking craft built by Mark Gumprecht. Having previously designed, built & sailed smaller tris, Mark has spent recent months building this beauty, which features both cockpit and small cuddy cabin for camp-cruising. And it’s all set upon a platform with a LOA of just 17′.
Tom Raidna first alerted me to this brand new Drifter 17 trimaran after he published photos of Mark’s building project at BuildBoats.com. (You’ll want to check out the full set of photos at Tom’s site). After seeing these pics I thought it might be fun to see if Mark would let me interview him about the design/build process and record an audio of our chat.
He agreed … and you’re gonna be glad he did :-)
This interview is a real treat. We hope you enjoy it. Thanks to Tom R. for cluing me into this boat … and thanks again to Mark for taking time to let me ask some questions about this tri.
Click on the controls on the blue audio bar below and listen as Mark shares about his newest “Drifter” trimaran model, seen in the photos below. By the way, building plans for Mark’s other Drifter trimarans can be found at Duckworks.
Drifter 17 Trimaran Early Building Stages
Drifter 17 Uses Ply for Flat Surfaces and Strip Cedar for Round Edges
Drifter 17 Trimaran Taking Shape
Mark's Craftsmanship On Display
Drifter 17 Would Be Challenging for a Typical Homebuilder
Sleek Drifter 17 Trimaran Cabin Design
Drifter 17 Folding System
For French-speakers — sailor Eric Marechal (in France) sent me the following because he posted info about Mark’s Drifter 17 way before I did …
“Hi Joe,
Did you check out my interviews with Mark? One about the boat: http://www.nauticaltrek.com/12518-la-construction-du-trimaran-drifter-17-gypsy-wind-par-mark-gumprecht …
And one about the mast: http://www.nauticaltrek.com/12524-construction-d-un-mat-aile-en-contreplaque-pour-le-trimaran-drifter17-de-mark-gumprecht
Both are in French. Alas, but with a lot of pictures.
Eric
Joe.. I’m translating the mast interview. Then on the interview site, there is a lot of debate if it is wort the labour and cost not to buy directly a carbon mast (cost per pound reduction i.e.).
I cannot understand this speculation, very much, given a mast like this will not cot much more than perhaps 200 USD, nothing comparable to an aluminum new mast, not to mention a carbon fiber one. I would only make sure there is absolutely no way in for freshwater or your oume plywood is very likely to rot and leave you in a very sad condition. I’d personally rather experiment with shorter masts, galvanised carbon steel vs stainless, and synthetic rigging to reduce weight.
What a tantalizing little craft!! Has this thing hit the water yet? I would love to see some pics/video. Who would have thought that you could fit a small cabin on a 17 footer! Could a higher performance rig (perhaps something poached from the H18) stand atop this? I like the idea of using Hobie rigs as all the parts are out there and cheap.
wonderful looking boat!
thanks for sharing.
Gypsy Wind was launched !
http://www.nauticaltrek.com/12552-les-essais-du-drifter-17-gypsy-wind-de-mark-gumprecht
I would like to have the plan for the Drifter 17 Trimaran.
Would you be able to help me link up with the owner?
Thank you.
Hi Lee,
See this post regarding Drifter 17 building plans – http://smalltrimaran.co.uk/?p=7027