Catamaran
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A catamaran ("cat" for short) is a multihulled vessel consisting of two parallel hulls of equal size.
A catamaran is geometry-stabilized, that is, it derives its stability from its wide beam, rather than having a ballasted keel like a monohull. Being ballast-free and lighter than a monohull, a catamaran can have a very shallow draught. The two hulls will be much finer than a monohull's, the reduced drag allowing faster speeds in some conditions, although the high wetted surface area is detrimental in lower wind speeds. A sailing multihull will heel much less than a sailing monohull of the same length, so on a windward course its sails spill less wind and are more efficient. The limited heeling means the ride may be more comfortable for passengers and crew, although catamarans can exhibit an unsettling "hobby-horse" motion and have a violent unsettling diagonal pitching motion that is unpredictable and makes moving around hard in rougher conditions, the noise is also much more than a monohull experiences.
A catamaran's two hulls are joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas. More sophisticated catamarans combine accommodation into the bridging superstructure. Catamarans may be driven by sail and/or engine. Originally catamarans were small yachts, but now some ships and ferries have adopted this hull layout because it allows increased speed, stability and comfort.
The catamaran concept is a relative newcomer for Western boat designers, although they have been used since time immemorial among the Dravidian people, in South India. Catamarans were developed independently in Oceania, where Polynesian catamarans and outrigger canoes allowed seafaring Polynesians to voyage to the remotest Pacific islands.
In recreational sailing, catamarans and trimarans initially met some skepticism from Western sailors versed in traditional ballasted monohull designs.[1]
Multihull component terms
The word catamaran is derived from the Tamil word kaṭṭumaram (கட்டுமரம்), literally "tied wood" (from kaṭṭu "to tie" and maram "wood, tree").[2][3][4] A "kattumaram", a geometry-stabilized rowboat used by the Tamil people, shares component part-names with the proa, a multihull sailboat used by the Oceanic people. Although the original "kattumaram" included a monohull raft, the modern word catamaran exclusively means a twin-hulled vessel.
In the United States, there are three terms that describe the main components of catamarans and trimarans, namely: “vaka”, “aka”, and “ama”,[5] terms derived from the Malay and Micronesian language group terms for parts of the outrigger canoe. These terms, which reflects only American usage, are unknown in the UK, where simple English words are used instead.
- Vaka – the canoe or main hull[6]
- Aka – the framework member that connects the vaka (hull) to the ama (outrigger, or “float”)[6]
- Ama – the outrigger, connected to the vaka by an aka[6]
In Hawaiian, the main difference is the main hull or canoe is a wa'a pronounced like va ah. There is no plural in Hawaiian and so a double canoe, or two canoes joined together by aka is a wa'a wa'a. An area in lower Puna is called wa'a wa'a. A comprehensive list of Hawaiian words for a boat is published by the Polynesian Voyaging Society.[7]
For a craft with more than two hulls, a practice developed in which "cata-" is replaced with the Greek numerical prefix for the number of hulls (e.g. trimaran, pentamaran).
History
Polynesian cats
While the English adventurer and buccaneer William Dampier was traveling around the world in search of business opportunities, he found himself on the south-western coast of India. He was the first to write in English about a kind of vessel he observed there. It was little more than a raft made of logs.
On the coast of Malabar," he wrote in 1697, "they call them Catamarans. These are but one Log, or two, sometimes of a sort of light Wood ... so small, that they carry but one Man, whose legs and breech are always in the Water.
The vessels described by Dampier are still in use today on the coasts of South India. "kattumaram" in Tamil literally means logs tied together. Today's kattumarams have about four logs tied together in a shallow arc to make a raft. The logs are usually from a local, fibrous palm tree. Typically the raft is untied and logs are scattered to dry out before reuse.
Although the name came from Tamil, the one-hull-ballasted sailboat variant is from South Pacific. English visitors applied the Tamil name catamaran to the swift, stable sail and paddle boats made out of two widely separated logs and used by Polynesian natives to get from one island to another.
Older European cats
The larger Hellenistic polyremes ("sixteens", "twenties", "thirties" and one "forty") were most likely double-hulled catamarans.[8] Catamarans were used by Greeks engineers under Ptolemy II (283–246 BC) as obelisk carriers:
It was conveyed by Phoenix, who by digging a canal brought the waters of the Nile right up to the place where the obelisk lay. Two very broad ships were loaded with cubes of the same granite as that of the obelisk, each cube measuring one foot, until calculations showed that the total weight of the blocks was double that of the obelisk, since their total cubic capacity was twice as great. In this way, the ships were able to come beneath the obelisk, which was suspended by its ends from both banks of the canal. Then the blocks were unloaded and the ships, riding high, took the weight of the obelisk. (Pliny, Nat. Hist. 36; 14, 67–68)
Later, Ptolemy IV (221–204 BC) is said to have built two super-galleys, the Thalamegos and the Tessarakonteres:[9]
A monstrous vessel supposedly rowed by 4,000 men. How could that many oarsmen be crowded in to one galley? Few specific details of the ship survived; but one significant clue was that it was double-prowed and double-sterned. [...] The vessel must have been a catamaran.
Early modern cats
Early modern Europe's first documented catamaran was designed by the polymath and Royal Society member William Petty in 1662. It was designed to sail faster, in shallower waters, with less wind & crew than other vessels of the time, but the unusual design met with scepticism and was not a commercial success.[10][11] The design remained relatively unknown in the West for almost another 160 years, until the 1820s or 1830s, when Englishman May Flower Crisp built a two-hulled merchant ship called "Original" at Rangoon. Crisp described it as "a fast sailing fine sea boat; she traded during the monsoon between Rangoon and the Tenasserim Provinces for several years".[12]
Later, an American, Nathanael Herreshoff, began to build catamaran boats of his own design in 1877 (US Pat. No. 189,459), namely Amaryllis, which immediately showed her superior performance capabilities, at her maiden regatta (The Centennial Regatta held on June 22, 1876, off the New York Yacht Club's Staten Island station).[1] It was this same event, after being protested by the losers, where catamarans, as a design, were barred from all the regular classes[1] and they remained barred until the 1970s. This ban relegated the catamaran to being a mere novelty boat design for many years.
In 1936 Eric de Bisschop built a Polynesian "double canoe" in Hawaii and sailed it home to a hero's welcome in France. In 1939, he published his book Kaimiloa, which was translated in English in 1940.
In 1947, surfing legend, Woodbridge "Woody" Brown and Alfred Kumalae designed and built the first modern ocean-going catamaran, Manu Kai, in Hawaii. Their young assistant was Rudy Choy, who later founded the design firm Choy/Seaman/Kumalae (C/S/K, 1957) and became a fountainhead for the catamaran movement. The Prout Brothers, Roland and Francis, experimented with catamarans in 1949 and converted their 1935 boat factory in Canvey Island, Essex (England), to catamaran production in 1954. Their Shearwater catamarans won races easily against the monohulls. Yellow Bird a 1953-built Shearwater, raced successfully by Francis Prout in the 1960s, is in the collection of the National Maritime Museum Cornwall. Inspired by de Bisshop's Kamiloa, in 1955 James Wharram built a utilitarian catamaran and sailed across the Atlantic with a crew of two German girls. In Trinidad he built another one and returned via the North Atlantic, west to east, pioneering catamaran cruising (maritime). James Wharram designs are a reference for simple, not too expensive self-built boats. Not needing a keel catamarans are more suitable for DIY construction.[13]
The speed and stability of these catamarans soon made them a popular pleasure craft, with their popularity really taking off in Europe, and was followed soon thereafter in America. Currently, most individually owned catamarans are built in France, South Africa, and Australia.
In 1970, Les Thompson began work in Inverloch, Australia, to single-handedly build the Llinase, a 70-tonne, 24-metre (79 ft) steel ketch motor-sailer which was subsequently launched in 1980. The vessel was able to "walk" up any suitable beach using a shunting system located under the wing and powered by hydraulic rams.
Sailing and transport
In the mid-twentieth century, the catamaran inspired an even more popular sailboat, the Beach Cat.
In California, a maker of surfboards, Hobie Alter produced the 250-pound (110 kg) Hobie 14 in 1967, and two years later the larger and even more successful Hobie 16. That boat remains in production, with more than 100,000 made in the past three decades.
The Tornado catamaran was an Olympic class sailing catamaran since 1976, with a crew of two. It was designed in 1967 by Rodney March of Brightlingsea, England, with help from Terry Pierce, and Reg White, specifically for the purpose of becoming the Olympic catamaran. At the IYRU Olympic Catamaran Trials, it easily defeated the other challengers.
Important builders of transport catamarans are Austal and Incat, both of Australia and best known for building large catamarans both as civilian ferries and as naval vessels.
Usage and application
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2014) |
Faster boats
Lightweight catamarans may have higher maximum speeds than monohull boats for some conditions. They can be slower in some conditions because of the added friction drag from the additional wetted surface area. In moderate winds and smooth seas they are usually faster, depending on the type of craft and its operating parameters, such as sail area and weight of stores.
All non-planing displacement hulls have an exponential growth in resistance with speed. The only exception to this is if the boat is light enough and has enough lift from the hull to plane. A catamaran usually has slender hulls which are easier to push through the water at a given speed.
Sailing catamarans are typically lighter for performance-oriented goals. They don't rely on a low center of gravity as a monohull sailboat does, since righting moment is derived from the spacing between multiple hulls. Catamarans have a wider beam (the distance from one side of the boat to the other), which makes them more stable and therefore able to carry more sail area per unit of length than an equivalent monohull. However, in strong gusty conditions, a sailing catamaran should significantly reduce sail to prevent the risk of the boat being blown over. The greater initial stability means that the sail is more likely to stay upright in a gust without developing a heel, which warns the crew of the force of the wind.
A catamaran reaches its maximum speed in moderate wind and in sheltered conditions. Wave action can be very detrimental to catamaran speed. Pitching of light weight catamarans is significant sailing to weather. Catamarans are especially favourable in coastal waters, where the often-sheltered waters permit the boat to reach and maintain its maximum speed.
Catamarans' peculiarities
Although the principles of sailing are the same for both catamarans and monohulls, there are some "peculiarities" to sailing catamarans. For example:
- Catamarans can be harder to tack if they don't have dagger boards or centre boards.[14] All sailboats must resist lateral movement in order to sail in directions other than downwind and they do this by either the hull itself or else leeboards (including Bruce foils), dagger boards, centre boards, or other systems like hydrofoils. Also, because catamarans are lighter in proportion to their sail size, they have less momentum to carry them through the turn when they are head to wind. Correct use of the jib sail (back-filling the jib to pull the bow around) is often essential in successfully completing a tack without ending up stuck in irons (pointing dead into the wind and sailing backwards, see: No-Go Zone).
- Catamarans are slower turning than monohulls as hull spacing is increased and hulls are narrowed to a more needle like shape.
- Catamarans are less likely to capsize in the classic "beam-wise" manner but often have a tendency to pitchpole instead—where the leeward (downwind) bow sinks into the water and the boat 'trips' over forward, leading to a capsize. Other sources state that trimarans are more prone to "pitchpole", while catamarans can flip sideways. Either way, it is caused by sail overpowering (and not moving weight aft fast enough for smaller vessels). "Trim a monohull for the lull, ride the puff; trim a multihull for the puff, wait the lull".
Catamaran sailing
Small recreational catamarans are typically designed to be launched and landed from a beach. They will come to rest on their keels without heeling over like a monohull. Additionally, their rudders can be retracted to the depth of their keels, which protects the fragile rudders from damage when the vessel is run aground.
Larger catamarans make good cruising and long distance boats: The Race (around the world, in 2001) was won by the giant catamaran Club Med skippered by Grant Dalton. It went round the earth in 62 days at an average speed of 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h).
For the 33rd America's Cup, both the defender and the challenger built 90-foot (27 m) long multihulls.[15] Société Nautique de Genève defending with team Alinghi Challenger sailed a catamaran. BMW ORACLE Racing, with a trimaran, replaced its soft sail rig with a towering wing sail – the largest sailing wing ever built. In the waters off of Valencia, Spain in February 2010, the BMW ORACLE Racing trimaran with its powerful wing sail proved to be superior. This represented a break from the traditional monohulls that had always been sailed in previous America's Cup series.
On San Francisco Bay, the 2013 America's Cup was sailed in 72-foot (22 m) long AC72 catamarans (craft set by the rules for the 2013 America's Cup). Each yacht had hydroplaning hulls and a wing sail. The regatta was won 9-8 by Oracle Team USA upon completion of the 19th race in the series against the challenger, Emirates Team New Zealand. Oracle Team USA had started the regatta with a 2 point penalty.[16]
Cruising sail cats
Below a minimum size, about 8 metres (26 ft), the catamaran's hulls do not have enough volume to allow them to be used as living space. At the same time, the bridgedeck area isn't sufficiently sized to make effective live-aboard space either.
- There are a lot of folks doing long-distance offshore cruising in monohull yachts of 9m (30 ft) and less. No responsible designer or multihull sailor would recommend this for a multihull. 12m (40 ft) is the minimum recommended LOA and 15m (50 ft) is preferred. This size allows adequate storage for necessary cruising equipment and still give you a good turn of speed in comfort and safety. ... If 15m (50 ft) sounds enormous, remember that the weight of a multihull, of this length, is probably not much more than half the weight of a monohull of the same length and it can be sailed with less crew effort.[17]
While more popular in Europe and Australia, they are gaining popularity in the US as well. These boats can maintain a comfortable 300 nautical miles (350 mi; 560 km) per day passage, with the racing versions recording well over 400 nautical miles (460 mi; 740 km) per day. In addition, they don't heel more than 10-12 degrees, even at full speed on a reach.
Mega-catamarans
One of the biggest developments over the last decade in the yachting arena has been the rise of the super catamaran: a multihull over 100 feet (30 m) in length. Various international manufacturers are leading the way in this area including Incat, Blubay, Yapluka, Blue Coast Yachts, Sunreef Yachts, Lagoon and Privilege.
Allures, a yacht-catamaran of more than 100 feet (30 m) was launched in 2007 at Blubay Yachts, France and refitted by Coste Design&Partners. A catamaran of 150 feet (46 m) in length is under construction at Derektor shipyards in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Coste Design&Partners are also preparing a power yacht-catamaran of 203 feet (62 m). This project, called Event Cat, will be a luxury yacht dedicated to corporate and private events. Coste Design&Partners and the designer Jean-Jacques Coste are working on a full range of yachts-catamarans between 80 feet (24 m) and more than 200 feet (61 m) in length.[promotion?]
The emergence of the super or mega catamaran is a relatively new event akin to the rise of the mega or super yacht, used to describe the huge growth in luxurious, large motor yachts on the French Riviera and Florida Coast.
One of the reasons for increased mega catamaran construction was "The Race", a circumnavigation challenge which departed from Barcelona, Spain, on New Year's Eve, 2000. Because of the prize money and prestige associated with this event, four new catamarans (and two highly modified ones) over 100 feet (30 m) in length were built to compete. The largest, "PlayStation", owned by Steve Fossett, was 125 feet (38 m) long and had a mast which was 147 feet (45 m) above the water. Virtually all of the new mega cats were built of pre-preg carbon fiber for strength and the lowest possible weight. Top speeds of these boats can approach 50 knots (58 mph; 93 km/h).
Powered catamarans
Cruising powered cats
A recent development in catamaran design has been the introduction of the power catamaran. The 'power' version incorporates the best features of a motor yacht and combines it with the characteristics of a multihull.
Usually, the power catamaran is devoid of any sailing apparatus as demonstrated by one of the top-selling models in the United States, the Lagoon Power 43. This vessel has now been introduced to a number of charter fleets in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean and is becoming an increasingly common sight.
Smaller powered catamarans are becoming quite common in the United States with several manufacturers producing quality boats. A small "cat" will almost certainly have 2 engines while a similar sized mono-hull would only have one engine. All mid-size and larger cats will have 2 engines.
The Swiss-registered catamaran, Tûranor PlanetSolar, which was launched in March 2010, is the world's largests solar powered boat. It completed a circumnavigation of the globe in 2012.
Passenger transport
An increasing trend is the deployment of a catamaran as a high-speed ferry. The use of catamaran for high-speed passenger transport was pioneered by Westermoen Hydrofoil in Mandal, Norway, who launched the Westamaran design in 1973. The Westamarans, and later designs, some of them consisting of a catamaran hull resting on an air cushion between the hulls, became dominant for all high-speed connections along the Norwegian coast. They could achieve speeds comparable to the hydrofoils that it replaced, and was much more tolerant of foul water and wave conditions.
Since the 1970s, the length of catamarans increased from some 20 metres (66 ft) up to 115 metres (377 ft) long.[18] The high-speed Stena (HSS) is the world's largest fast ferry, traveling at a speed of 46 miles per hour (74 km/h), although it is capable of doing over 70 miles per hour (110 km/h).
There is a list of catamaran ferry routes documenting the growing number of routes.
Military cats
A military catamaran is being designed for the U.S. Navy and is in its experimental phase. It is much more resilient and faster than ordinary catamarans.
The Alcock Ashdown Class is a class of 6 large catamaran hull survey ships being built for the Indian Navy. One ship INS Makar (J31) is in service from 2012 and 5 more under various stages of construction.
The Indonesian Navy is the process of procuring 4 X3K trimaran missile boats from North Sea Boats. The first of these, the KRI Klewang was launched in August 2012. However, after three weeks of sea trials, the boat caught fire in port and the program was temporarily put on hold. An updated version of the class is now in development for the Indonesian Navy.
Variations
Two main types of catamaran exist: the regular catamaran and the open catamaran, which features a trampoline between the hulls instead of plating. The normal catamaran multihull, powered or not, consists of two Amas separated by two Akas, which may suspend a platform or trampoline between them. They can be of various sizes and, recently, have become very large.
SWATH
The Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) is a hull form used for vessels that require a ship of a certain size to handle in rough seas as well as a much larger vessel. An added benefit is a high proportion of deck area for their displacement—in other words, large without being heavy. The SWATH form was invented by Canadian Frederick G. Creed, who presented his idea in 1938 and was later awarded a British patent for it in 1946. It was first used in the 1960s and 1970s as an evolution of catamaran design for use as oceanographic research vessels or submarine rescue ships.
Catamarans provide large, broad decks. It also allows for a design that greatly reduce water resistance (the part that generates waves) by moving as much displacement volume as possible to the lower hull and narrowing the waterline cross-section sharply, creating the distinctive pair of bulbous hulls below the waterline and the narrow struts supporting the upper hull. This design means that the ship's flotation runs mostly under the waves, like a submarine (the smooth ride of a sub was the inspiration for the design). The result is that a fairly small ship can run very steadily in rough seas. A 50-metre (160 ft) ship can operate at near full power in nearly any direction in waves as high as 12 metres (39 ft).
The S.W.A.T.H. theory was further developed by Dr. Thomas G. Lang, inventor of improvements to the semi-submerged ship (S3) in about 1968. Basically, a SWATH vessel consists of two parallel torpedo like hulls attached to which are two or more streamlined struts which pierce the water surface and support an above water platform. The US Navy commissioned the construction of a SWATH ship called the Kaimalino to prove the theory as part of their ship research program. The Kaimalino has been operating successfully in the rough seas off the Hawaiian islands since 1975.
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Pontoon Boat
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Hydroairy Ship
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SWATH pilot boat in Rotterdam
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Another Dutch SWATH Pilot boat
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Research ship Planet of the German Navy
Pontoon boat or hydroairy ship
The hydroairy ship appears to be nothing more than an upgraded and enlarged pontoon boat with a formed and shaped underplatform. The general architecture is identical, consisting of two flotation chambers, for the Amas, joined by a load carrying platform, which carries the superstructure.
Invented in 1952 by a Minnesota farmer,[19] in the rural town of Richmond, MN. Ambrose Weeres had an idea that if you put a wooden deck on top of two columns of steel barrels welded together end to end, you would have a sturdy deck that would be more stable on a lake than a conventional boat. This was Ambrose Weeres, walking the same idea paths as the early Polynesians, while proving that the ideas behind the multihull are not all that counter-intuitive.
These sorts of boats are cheap and easy to make, require no ballast, and thus have good performance. Although this design is almost exclusively restricted to power boats, it is still essentially a catamaran. No displacement is lost towards ballast, therefore yielding huge operational efficiencies.
An unconventional design is the MAR Proteus.[20]
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catamaran in Lake Constance
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HSC Tarifa Jet, Large, commercial high-speed catamaran ferry.
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TurboJET's Barca Foilcat
Catamaran kits
One factor following the rise of popularity in catamarans is the popularity of catamaran "kits". Most popular are materials such as woven fibreglass fabrics and foam, balsa or paper-honeycomb cores. These materials are pressed to create "panels" which are then often cut to specific shapes and parts for construction by amateurs or professionals.
See also
- Hawaii Superferry
- Hōkūleʻa
- International Catamaran Challenge Trophy
- International C-Class Catamaran Championship
- SWATH, another twin hull design
- Hydrocopter
- The Hirondelle
- Pentamaran
- Turtling (sailing)
- James Wharram
- Beachcat
Notes
- ^ a b c L. Francis Herreshoff. "The Spirit of the Times, November 24, 1877 (reprint)". Marine Publishing Co., Camden, Maine. Archived from the original on 2008-01-24.
- ^ "Catamaran". Retrieved 2012-06-06.
- ^ Farlex. "Catamaran". Retrieved 2012-06-06.
- ^ Thompson, Della (1998). The Concise Oxford Dictionary (9th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 205. ISBN 0198613202.
- ^ "The Tridarka Raider". Retrieved 2007-10-30.
- ^ a b c "A Primer on Proas". Archived from the original on 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
- ^ "Polynesian Voyaging Society".
- ^ Lionel Casson (1969): "The Super-Galleys of the Hellenistic Age", Mariner's Mirror, Vol. 55, pp. 185-193
- ^ Colin Thubron. The Seafarers: The Ancient Mariners. Time-Life Books Inc. pp. Forenote.
- ^ "Model of a twin-hulled ship - William Petty". Royal Society. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
- ^ 22 September 2000 (2000-09-22). "Sailing with an Achilles' keel | General". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ B R Pearn "A History of Rangoon", Corporation of Rangoon 1938 page 136; M F Crisp "A Treatise on Marine Architecture" Maulmein 1849 p94
- ^ Harvey, Derek, Multihulls for Cruising and Racing, Adlard Coles, London 1990 p. 16, ISBN 0-7136-6414-2
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions on Multihulls".
- ^ "11. MULTIHULL BATTLE - 35th America's Cup". Americascup.com. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
- ^ "35th America's Cup". Americascup.com. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
- ^ Jim Howard, Charles J. Doane. Handbook of offshore cruising: The Dream and Reality of Modern Ocean Cruising. Sheridan House, Inc. p. 280. ISBN 1-57409-093-3.
- ^ InCat, one of the largest wave-piercing catamaran builders
- ^ Weeres History - "An Idea that Started an Industry"
- ^ WAMV Proteurs images
Bibliography
- C. A. Marchaj. Aero-Hydrodynamics of Sailing. Tiller Publishing. ISBN 1-888671-18-1.
- C. A. Marchaj. Sail Performance. McGraw Hill. p. 400. ISBN 0-07-141310-3.
- C. A. Marchaj. Seaworthiness:The Forgotten Factor. Tiller Publishing. p. 372. ISBN 1-888671-09-2.
External links
- Multiblog is the catamaran's blog !
- Catamaran Sailing at TheBeachcats.com Site devoted to all types of small catamarans known as beachcats.
- Catamaran boat Builders
- Multihulls World Catamarans aficionados magazine
- Transporting A Catamaran Pictorial of transporting a 32 foot catamaran over land
Types
- catamaran = two symmetric hulls
- proa = two asymmetric hulls, reverse-shunting (interchangeable bow/stern)
- trimaran = three hulls
- quadrimaran = four hulls
- pentamaran = five hulls
Pre-modern Austronesian
Pre-modern Western
- Tessarakonteres and Thalamegos (3rd century BC)
- Simon & Jude or Invention I (1662)
- Invention II (1662)
- Experiment (1664)
- St. Michael the Archangel (1684)
- Experiment (1786)
- Taurus (1790s)
19th century
- Jersey (1812)
- York (1813)
- Nassau (1814)
- Steam Battery (1815)
- Double Trouble (1820)
- Castaliâ (1874)
- Amaryllis (1876)
- Calais-Douvres or Express (1877)
- Duplex (1877)
- Duster (1877)
- John Gilpin (1877)
- Original (early 19th century)
- Tarantella (1877)
- Teaser (1878)
- Zarifa (1878)
- Proa #1 (1898)
1900s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
- DC‐14 Phantom
- A Class
- B Class
- C Class
- D Class
- Beverly
- Catalac 9M
- Cheshire 14
- Hellcats II
- Hirondelle Mk I
- Hobie 14
- Hobie 16
- Isotope
- Kraken 18
- Kraken 25
- Kraken 33
- Kraken 40
- Lodestar
- Pacific Catamaran
- Pen Duick IV or Manureva
- Rehu Moana
- Searunner 25
- Searunner 31
- Searunner 37
- Searunner 40
- Shark
- Snow Goose
- Stingray catamaran
- Tigercat
- Toria
- Tornado
- Trice
- Trifle
- Trine
- Trio
1970s
- Acapella (Olympus Photo)
- Catalac 8M
- Catalac 10M
- Catalac 12M
- Constant Camber 26
- Constant Camber 32
- Crossbow
- Crossbow II
- Crowther Buccaneer 24
- Crowther Buccaneer 28
- Crowther Buccaneer 33
- Crowther Buccaneer 36
- Crowther Buccaneer 40
- Dart 18
- Farrier Command 10
- Farrier Trailertri 18
- Farrier Trailertri 680
- Farrier Trailertri 720
- FT
- G-Cat 5.0
- Great Britain III
- Halcat
- Hobie 18
- Kaimalino
- Kriter IV
- Miss Nylex
- Nacra 5.2
- Polynesian Concept
- Prindle 18
- Reynolds 21
- Seaclipper 28
- Searunner 34
- Sprint 15
- Stiletto 27
- Sunburner
- Telstar 26 MK1
- Telstar 26 MK2
- Telstar 26 MK3
- Telstar 35
- Telstar 8m
- Third Turtle
- Topcat F1
- Trident 27
- Venta
1980s
- Atlantic 50
- Auscat
- Brittany Ferries
- Casamance 43
- Constant Camber 3M
- Constant Camber 23 Cyclone
- Constant Camber 30
- Constant Camber 35
- Constant Camber 37
- Constant Camber 40
- Constant Camber 44
- Corneel 26
- Dict Robert
- Discovery 20
- Dragonfly 800
- Elf Aquitaine
- Farrier F-27
- Farrier Tramp
- Fidji 39
- Fleury Michon (yacht)
- Fleury Michon IV
- FMV
- Formula Tag
- Gauliosis IV
- Gautier II
- G-Cat 5.7
- Great Britain IV
- Jet Services II
- Jet Services V
- Freshwater class
- First Fleet class
- Hobie 17
- Juniper
- Lagoon 55 (1987)
- Lagoon 57
- VSD 2
- Llinase
- Louisiane 37
- Maldives 32
- Matilda
- Matilda II
- Matilda III
- Matilda IV
- Moxie
- Mystère 6.0
- Our Lady Patricia
- Our Lady Pamela
- Paul Ricard
- Phantom 16 (catamaran)
- Prindle 18-2
- RC-27
- Royale II
- Sarimanok
- Seaclipper 10
- Seaclipper 34
- Seaclipper 38
- Seaclipper 41
- Sidinox
- ARC 15
- ARC 17
- ARC 19
- SuperCat 20
- Taipan 4.9
- Topcat Spitfire 2.3
- Topcat Spitfire 2.5
- Trac 14
- Trac 16
- William Saurin
1990s
- Antigua 37
- ARC 22
- Athena 38
- Avalon 8.2
- Avalon 9
- Bahia 46
- Brady 52
- Cable and Wireless Adventurer
- Cat-Link IV
- Cat Link V
- Catalonia
- Catri 26
- Cat
- Centaurus II
- CityCat
- Condor 10
- Condor 12
- Condor Express
- Condor Vitesse
- Dart 16
- Douce France
- Dragonfly 600
- Dragonfly 1000
- Farrier F-9
- Farrier F-24 Mk II
- Farrier F-31
- Farrier F-36
- Farrier F-82
- Hammerhead 34
- Hoverspeed France
- Incat 045
- Incat 046
- Incat 050
- HarbourCat class
- Hobie Miracle 20
- Hobie Tiger
- Lagoon 35
- Lagoon 37
- Lagoon 380
- Lagoon 410
- Lagoon 42
- Lagoon 47
- Lagoon 470
- Marquises 53
- Marquises 56
- MDV1200
- Mystère 4.3
- Nacra 20
- Open 60
- Phantom 14 (catamaran)
- RC-30
- RV Triton
- Sealion 2000
- RiverCat class
- Scarab 670
- Seacat Scotland
- Seaclipper 16
- Sea Runner
- Stena Lynx III
- Stena Voyager
- Taipan 5.7
- Tobago 35
- Tarifa Jet
- Topcat K1
- Topcat K2
- Topcat K3
- TriFoiler
- Venezia 42
- WindRider 16
- WindRider Rave
2000s
- ARC 21
- Astus 14.1
- Astus 16.1
- Astus 20.1
- Astus 22
- Aussie 3m
- Belize 43
- Benchijigua Express
- Brady 45
- Catri 23
- Catri 24
- Corsair 28
- Corsair 37
- Dash 750
- Dragonfly 28
- Dragonfly 35
- Dragonfly 920
- Dragonfly 1200
- Earthrace
- Eleuthera 60
- Explorer 44
- Extreme 40
- Fantasea class
- Farrier F-32
- Farrier F-33
- Farrier F-39
- Farrier F-41
- Formula 18
- Hobie Dragoon
- Hobie Getaway
- Hobie Wildcat
- Huakai
- Hydroptère
- Incat Tasmania
- HSV-2 Swift
- Independence class
- Lagoon 380
- Lagoon 570
- Lagoon 440
- Lagoon 500
- Lagoon 420
- Lagoon 400
- Lagoon 620
- Lagoon Power 43
- Lagoon Power 44
- Lavezzi 40
- Lipari 41
- M80 Stiletto
- Mahe 36
- MGC 66
- Milenium
- Multi 23
- MV Sorrento
- Nacra Infusion
- Natchan World
- Orana 44
- Orange II
- Sea Fighter
- SL 16
- Spirit of Kangaroo Island
- Spitfire
- Sprint 750
- SuperCat class
- Telstar 28
- The Cat
- Type 022
- USAV Spearhead
- Viper F16
- Westpac Express
- Weta
- WindRider 10
- WindRider 17
2010s
- AC45
- AC72
- Alegria 67
- Amatasi 27
- Astus 18.2
- Astus 20.2
- Astus 24
- Atlantic 47
- Baydream 5.5
- Brady 57
- Brady Pathfinder M Series
- Catri 25
- Catri 27
- Constant Camber DC-3
- Cruze 970
- Dragonfly 32
- Ducky14s
- Ducky16
- Expandacraft Pocketcat
- Farrier F-22
- Farrier F-44
- Farrier F-85
- Flying Phantom Elite
- Flying Phantom Essentiel
- Formula 16
- Francisco
- Galathea 65
- Helia 44
- Ipanema 58
- Klewang
- Lagoon 52
- Lagoon 39
- Lagoon 450
- Lagoon 42-2
- Lagoon 560
- Lagoon 40
- Lagoon 77
- Lagoon 50
- Lagoon 46
- Lagoon 65
- Makar
- M32
- Nacra F16
- Nacra 17
- Neel 45
- Neel 65
- Planet
- Pulse 600
- Saba 50
- Salina 48
- Sanya 57
- Seacart 26
- Seacart 30
- Seaclipper 20
- Seaclipper 24
- Spearhead
- Topcat 4.5 (K4)
- Topcat Chico
- Tuo Chiang-class corvette
- Victoria 67
- Wavelength 780
- WindRider Rave V
2020s
Brands
- Astusboats (Astus)
- Austal
- Brady Catamarans (Brady)
- Catrigroup
- Corsair Marine
- Dragonfly Trimarans (Dragonfly)
- Expandacraft
- Farrier Marine
- Fountaine-Pajot
- Gunboat (multihull) (Gunboat)
- Hobie
- Incat
- Kværner
- Lagoon catamaran
- Mystère
- Nacra Sailing
- Neel
- Outremer
- Prindle
- Rapido
- Seacart
- Sunreef
- Telstar
- Topcat
- Torpen
- Tricat
- Wavelength
- WindRider
Unsorted
- Cross 18
- Cross 24
- Cross 26
- Cross 36
- Cross 46
- Cross 50
- Cross 52
- Crowther Buccaneer 35
- Farrier F-25
- Farrier F-28
- Fulmar 19
- Hammerhead 54
- RC 27
- RC 30
- Scarab 16
- Scarab 18
- Scarab 22
- Scarab 32
- Scarab 350
- Scarab 650
- Scarab 8
- Skyhook 39
- Stealth F16
- Strike 15
- Strike 16
- Strike 18
- Tri-star 18
- Tri-star 24
- Tri-star 25
- Tri-star 26 MT
- Tri-star 27-9
- Tri-star 31 CM
- Tri-star 31
- Tri-star 32 XR
- Tri-star 35 XR
- Tri-star 35
- Tri-star 36
- Tri-star 37 XRC
- Tri-star 38 / 39
- Tri-star 40 LW
- Tri-star 42
- Tri-star 43 MC
- Tri-star 43 XRC
- Tri-star 44 LW
- Tri-star 45
- Tri-star 49
- Tri-star 50
- Tri-star 51 MC
- Tri-star 54
- Tri-star 60 / 63
- Tri-star 65
- Tri-star 80
- TRiAK
- Trikala 19
- Unicorn
- W17