Carbon fiber is an advanced boat building material.  Its beauty is found in its simplicity, which is its stiffness to weight ratio .  This allows for less material usage, therefore producing a lighter boat than what could be manufactured from other common building materials. Final result is a stiff, lightweight boat that can be built to the designer’s esthetically  pleased eye.

 

Carbon fiber isn’t a new but has remained a second or third choice in usage due to it’s cost.  It remains more expensive than all grades of fiberglass, woods, and  Kevlar.  Because of the high cost, carbon fiber has found it’s way onto mainstream racing boats only where its value is considered justified; masts, booms, bowsprits, rudders along with countless minor components.  Because of the perceived high cost, few designers have invested in designing a boat with carbon fiber as the primary building material. 

Although there are some. Ted Warren of Warren Multihulls has been designing, building and successfully racing multihulls for several years.  His designs have graduated to what is now cutting edge in racing sailboats under 40 feet.  The Warren 32 Carbon Series.  The W32cs design was from conception, to be built of carbon fiber.  Materials and design complimenting each other toward the goals of speed and strength.  Design parameters also included the ability to compete in the market place, producing a safe and comfortable platform for its crew of 3 or 4.

How does an inshore/offshore racing trimaran, made with expensive materials compete in the recreational sailing marketplace?  The W32cs focuses on being a great value.  The W32cs started on the drawing board (OK, a high powered PC) with both buoy and distance racing successes as primary goals. Versatility is an attractive feature to potential owners. Beyond this, carbon fiber’s value needs to be maximized.  This is accomplished by approaching boat building from a business point of view fueled by a passion for the sport. The costs of doing business needs to be scrutinized and refined to the highest efficiencies without jeopardizing quality of workmanship or materials.  In this case, aggressive procurement procedures (blanket orders, buying in bulk, etc.) minimizes administration and shipping costs while reducing the per item purchase price.  Strategic relationships have been employed as well.  Composite Engineering’s advance spar design and manufacturing process have been assigned for all masts and boom production.  Stillwater designs will partner in the vaka (mainhull) fabrication. Shore Sails has produced Kevlar suits for Hull #1 and a Cuban fiber suit for hull #2 within the Warren Carbon Series. Delegating to companies with strength in their fields reduces cost, time to market while ensuring a refined final product.

What does a 32-foot trimaran made in the United States using the highest quality materials and components cost?  The overall campaigning cost are estimated to be about the same as a J105.What kind of performance can carbon fiber produce in a 32-foot trimaran format?

More than adequate to win the gun.  As the W32cs is unique as a modern trimaran in the mid thirty-foot range, the most appropriate comparison is a theoretical Open 60 trimaran scaled 2:1.  Here are some numbers that are helpful understanding its performance potential.

Comparison ORMA60 half-scale to W32
	ORMA60-1/2	W32	Percent Change
LOA	30	32	7%
BOA	28.7	30	5%
BOA/LOA	0.96	0.94	-2%
Racing Weight	2322	*2100	-10%
Mast	47	47	0%
Working Sail	740	677	-8%
**Bruce Number	2.05	2.03	-1%

*The weight provided is intended for use in gaining a rating certificate and takes crew and gear weight into account.  The bareboat weight is proper for safe sailing although is at this point, considered privileged information.

** A Bruce number is a power to weight ratio used in multihulls to estimate performance.

The 2003 season was used as a shakedown season.  Few bugs were detected and were all simple and dealt with while on the mooring.  A full racing season commences in 2004.  We’ll keep you updated on how she does on the racecourse.