How does it feel to sail with a vessel fitted with 2 outriggers like this?
Posted by fatsopiggy@reddit | sailing | View on Reddit | 7 comments
I am from a tropical country and I've always wanted to try to commission a vessel like these paraw boats with an outrigger area for lounging around. Do these boats need a keel if they already have the outriggers for stability? How does it feel to tack into the wind with the 2 outriggers? I know some Pacific boats with amas put the outrigger on the windward side, but how would it work with the 2 outriggers? Are they just there to stabilize the boat in place of a deep keel?
Thank you for any tip!
budgester@reddit
Look up the kon-tiki and Thor Heyerdahl
the__itis@reddit
They are proven but the delta is that without heeling, the sails don’t spill wind the same. You can get overpowered quickly. Rig needs to be MUCH stronger.
twilightmoons@reddit
I have sailing kayaks that are trimarans - very stable, lots of fun.
They still need a keel of some sort. Some using a long, low keel that maintains a shallow draft. Not as efficient as a long, narrow keel, but different boats have different needs. Some use leeboards that can be raised or lowered as needed.
Sailing of any sort is essentially running on the interface between two mediums of different physical properties. Part of the craft is "stuck" to one medium, and part is "stuck" in the other. "Sailing" is managing how the craft behaves in that interface.
So with sailing on water, you need part of the craft firmly "attached" to the water while the rest is subject to the effects of the wind in the air. The keel is what "attaches" you to the water, for as the wind pushes your boat at an angle, the keel resists that force in a certain way and allows you to move the boat in a direction other than "along with the wind."
Take ice boats - the blades dig into the ice and resist side-slipping while the sail catches the wind and imparts a force to the craft. In the wheeled versions, the wheels resist the side-slip.
fatsopiggy@reddit (OP)
Thank you. I am thinking of doing this on a zanzibar dhow / arabian xebec type of main hull, would a keel like this be enough? https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/state-qatar-doha-traditional-dhow-1821815432
twilightmoons@reddit
Maybe, those are shallow draft fishing/cargo work boats, not really fast pleasure craft.
You can also look here for an idea: they put a small keel on each outrigger, to keep a shallow draft. But to do this, you need to be able to do some torque calculations on your boat so you put them in the right location - too far forward, and the boat tends to turn one way, too far back, and it tends to turn in the opposite way.
Full-Photo5829@reddit
I would be pretty interested to try out a junk-rigged schooner with unstayed masts and two outriggers. If I ever win the lottery and decide to commission one, I will DM you 😄
garage149@reddit
They are called trimarans, quite a few available.
Try searching on “trimaran”, “Neel trimaran”, “Corsair trimaran”,