I picked up this project from the original builder who went in a completely different boat-building direction. He did a lot of the hard work: coating both sides of the okoume ply with glass/epoxy, assembling the vaka and amas, and painting. It was a pretty quick project for me thanks to the nice work of the original builder: I began the work on the akas, assembly, and rigging in June 2016, and I was able to launch and begin my first test sails in August. And I took it up to a lake just north of York, PA, that fall.
John Marples has designed a slew of fine trimarans, and he has collaborated for decades with the legendary Jim Brown of Searunner trimaran fame. Check out his website at www.searunner.com. Seaclipper 10 was his contribution to a proposed small trimaran racing class that never took off. Other well-known designers such as Phil Bolger also penned a design that met the competition rules ("Three-meter Multihull"), and his write-up in Boats with an Open Mind (1994) provides an excellent description of the design constraints and his solution. Photos of Marples' well-named Seaclipper 10, "Bananas," can be found on Joe Farinaccio's Small Trimarans website (http://smalltrimarans.com/blog/yellow-seaclipper-10-trimaran-bananas/). The racing class never took off, and only a few Seaclipper 10s appeared to have been built in the US -- Bob Trygg may have built the majority of the ones that did (https://www.duckworksmagazine.com/11/projects/smiling/). However, the 3-meter trimaran concept might have more success in Europe ("Classe Diecipiedi"). And to say that those designer/builders are inspired is an understatement (see http://smalltrimarans.com/blog/new-10-foot-trimaran-update/#more-16749, and many thanks to Joe and his Small Trimarans blog for the article and links).
Marples provides well-thought plans that include a huge amount of detail on the sail rig and hardware. But to keep my costs low, I used what was available in my shop, repurposing two straight (rear) Hobie tramp crossbeams (one from a H16, and the other from a H14) for the akas; and an old windsurfer mast and sail. I re-cut the original sleeved-luff sail and laminated a curved sprit boom from some oak trim strips (from a big box store) to build a leg-of-mutton rig (a la Phil Bolger, photo below). The windsurfer mast is “buried” into the vaka step and the mast has a short extension to make up the length difference. It’s simple, lightweight, cheap to build and modify, easy to rig, and works great for light to moderate breezes. It was perfect for the little Seaclipper’s test sails.
We don’t get a lot of wind on the Chesapeake Bay in the summertime. For the first few times out, the re-cut windsurfer sail had plenty of drive, but it was clear that the boat needed and could handle more horsepower. I attended the Labor Day boat auction at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (St. Michaels, MD), and at their pre-auction flea market I found a pile of old spars and a sail. Once I got it all home I found a complete gunter rig. I figured that I could use the parts to build a Marconi rig with 50% more area than the leg-of-mutton sail. The old gunter sail was a little dirty, but good enough to use “as is”, and it’s lashed to the windsurfer mast, which now has an even longer extension (photo below). The boom is also from the old gunter rig, and I used cut-down wooden yardsticks from my local big box store for sail battens (even though they worked fine, I should probably replace them with proper fiberglass battens).
Early in the Seaclipper project I decided to change the original builder’s paint scheme from blue to orange -- it’s a pretty small boat and I want to be highly visible out on the water. The “Kubota Orange” tractor paint from my local hardware store worked great (and costs a fraction of marine enamel), and I will give the vaka and amas a second coat in the springtime. I think the yellow sail looks pretty good with the orange hulls, too. I coated the mahogany rudder and daggerboard with the new Duckworks DWX epoxy to test out it’s application properties and long-term UV resistance (no varnish on this boat!). I am very happy with the way the DWX epoxy laid down -- it took a while to kick, even though it was hot outside, and I had a minimal amount of hillock sanding after it cured; there’s been no problems with yellowing or adherence so far.
My next task would be to find a used spinnaker -- a ‘chute is also shown in Marples' plans -- from one of the small planing skiffs, or maybe I’ll build my own. Even with just a mainsail, the Seaclipper 10 is a really sporty boat, and it always gets the looks. The bucket seat is great (once you figure out how to get in...), much more comfortable than the Hobie cats that I used for teaching beginner sailing. And the Seaclipper 10 sails just like the Mini I used to drive -- “on rails”. It’s a very sweet ride!
“Orange+Rhumb” at the WCHA Mini-Assembly,
Gifford Pinchot State Park, October 2016
It's now 2020, I am suffering from "to-many-itis," and this Seaclipper 10 is looking for a new home and a new skipper. Besides being a lot of fun to sail, what are the good and bad points of the boat? Very quick to rig, just like a Sunfish. Very stable, once you get in. You're sitting looking forward, and very secure. The boat is not tippy; the amas easily keep the boat nearly vertical in almost any kind of wind or gust. The sheet is close at hand. I used a Matt Layden Paradox-like rudder control arrangement, rather than the "look, Ma, no hands" foot pedals that Marples designed into the boat. On the Chesapeake Bay, we call it "stick steer." The boat is light and easily beach-launched. I transport and store it on a cheap, flat utility trailer, and I built a small dolly to move it around when I launch from a kayak ramp. And, Mini-like, it turns on a dime -- and takes off in the lightest breeze. I'll bet it's a real hoot in this boat when you're flying a spinnaker.
Bad points? I built it with fixed rather than telescoping akas. The overall width is street legal, but it is too wide to get it into my basement shop. So it takes up room in the garage, or it gets stored outside. I installed a drain to make sure that it didn't fill up with rainwater that got past the cover. Probably the biggest issue is getting into it -- not for the faint of heart. As Bolger notes in his design, the outboard amas have enough buoyancy to support plenty of weight amidships. But getting from the ama to the center vaka requires a trampoline or a board to close the span -- too complicated and more weight to interest me. I added simple rope "stirrups" to help get up and into the saddle.
Let me know if you are interested in this little hot rod.
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