Sailor Rob Wyman shared the following pics with me about his newly purchased DC-3 Trimaran (named KAIMANA) back in May. My apologies to him for taking so long to post.
His boat is one we got a glimpse of being built by Chuck Fenoglio and readied for sail here and here and here.
It appears the boat was beautifully built by Chuck and will no doubt be a wonderful mini-cruising trimaran for its new owner. John Marples is the designer of this craft, by the way.
Many thanks to Rob for letting us see this boat in the water. Regarding this boat, Rob had also shared the following:
“I purchased Kaimana this weekend from Nancy Fenoglio and took 2 of Chuck’s old friends out for an evening sail in Long Beach – my 2nd time out. My wife came along too and took lots of pictures and some videos. Weather was perfect and wind ranged from very light to about 10 knots. We were able to move along at about 3 knots when the wind indicator at the masthead couldn’t decide which direction the wind was coming from. As the wind settled in we ran a steady 7+ knots on the GPS with a peak of 8. I’m not sure if the wind gusted above 10 knots but the weather and sea state sure didn’t look like it. For one run of a few minutes the port hull lifted about 2-3 feet out of the water – I couldn’t tell if the wind had gusted or it was just our point of sail. I let Marty drive the whole time – she never sailed before but spent many hours talking to Chuck while he labored away, so I think she was very excited to feel the boat move. That said, I didn’t really trim the sails much. I still have yet to test the boat with me at the helm – plenty of time for that later. I’ll do my best to let you know how she performs as I get more time on the water in different conditions. This is my first venture in a multi-hull and everything feels good. Unfortunately, I can only compare to my Cal 29 or similar monhulls.
Cheers,
Rob”
Rob,
Awesome boat, congratulations! I saw the electric outboard on there and would love to pick your brain about the range and weight of that set up. Beautiful boat and I bet she sails like a dream. Let me know if you ever make it up to Ventura, I sure would like to sail my old Cross 26 next to you and see if I could keep up.
Fair winds,
Brandon W.
Hi Brandon: Sorry for the late reply – I just saw this post. I’d be happy to chat about the electric outboard. I used it 3 or 4 times and it was great in the marina because it is so smooth and quiet, but the boat makes almost no headway when the wind picks up to 15 knots or so. I used about 30-40% of the battery if I used it for 30 minutes or so just to motor out of the marina and back in. I’m selling it since I also have a 6 hp gas outboard and want greater range and power, but it has some great features. I have Kaimana on the trailer now, so getting to Ventura might be in the future with a trip to Anacapa or Santa Cruz Island. I’m sure the two tri’s would be pretty equally matched, and I’m a pretty poor racer, so I give you good odds. Feel free to email me at wyman688 AT gmail.com if you want to compare small tri notes or plan a sail.
Update on outboard motors: In August I took Kaimana to Catalina for the first weekend trip and on the 2nd day winds were on the nose and very light, so I motored for about 8 hrs to Santa Barbara Island. I ran my 6 hp Tohatsu at half throttle doing 5 knots and only used 2 1/2 gallons of gas all day.
I am currently building one of these trimarans on Oahu and would love to connect with you to share notes.
Best wishes and happy sailing
Jamey & Brandon: I’d be happy to chat about my DC3. I trailered to Ventura last month and did an overnight at Anacapa Island. Channel Islands was a great launching point so I plan to head back soon. You can reach me at wyman688@gmail.com.