Tryst Trimaran

Product Description

The Tryst is a 10 ft trimaran that uses the Duo dinghy as its main hull. The two v-shaped outriggers bolt onto the wings of the Duo to make a light and stable little boat.

The outriggers add lots of stability for little extra weight, especially as all the panels for the outriggers are made from one sheet of 3 or 4 mm plywood. So the whole boat is very light and cheap to build, basically made from just three sheets of plywood (plus one for the rudder, daggerboard etc.).

The Tryst outriggers are long, narrow and deep. That is because they are not training wheels but hulls in their own right. If they were too short and fat they would generate a lot of drag, even if they had the same buoyancy as the longer ones.

The prototype was first sailed in August 2014. Sailing it is very easy and fun. Despite the small mainsail, Tryst sails surprisingly well even in light winds. It tacks very easily, with absolutely no hesitation.

As a keen dinghy sailor I try to keep both outriggers out of the water, but when I'm feeling lazy I let them do the work and just sit back and relax, welcoming the extra security of the buoyancy.

One reason for making the outriggers a vee shape is to reduce slamming and spray. Another reason is that, when heeled, the outriggers give grip to the water. This allows easy sailing on or off a shallow beach [without the daggerboard]. By heeling the boat to lee, the deep v outrigger digs in enough to prevent excessive leeway.

Richard Woods, Tryst designer

Tryst would be an extremely difficult boat to capsize, but it is small and light enough to be righted without help, by standing on one of the outriggers to sink it and rotate the boat around the main hull.

The complete Tryst, including rig and outriggers, can fit inside a pickup or van with a 6 ft bed, assuming the nesting version of the Duo is built and a three-piece mast is used (the outriggers fit in diagonally). With the main hull weighing 20 kg and each outrigger weighing 5 kg, it is easy to lift onto a car roof once the hulls are separated.

With practice, the boat can be assembled, rigged and launched in about ten minutes, not counting the time it takes to assemble the nesting version.

The main hull could also go on a big boat in davits, unnested and with the outriggers removed.

For those who want to race in the Italian 10 ft class then a bigger racing rig based on an 8 m² International Moth sail is available.

• LOA: 3 m (10′)
• Beam: 2.4 m (8′)
• Main hull weight: 20 kg (45 lb)
• Outrigger hull weight: 5 kg (11 lb) each
• Sail area: 5 m² (53 sq ft)
• Draught: 130/750 mm (5″/2′ 6″)

Plans and construction manual

The Tryst trimaran plans include detailed specifications for building and rigging the boat. If you already have the Duo dinghy plans or a pre-built Duo, you only need the outrigger plans, otherwise you will need the full plans, which include the plans for the Duo. The quality and clarity of the plans ease the construction of this boat, though you still need to be confident of your plans-reading ability.

A complete materials list is supplied with the plans. All dimensions are in metric units.

PDF Plans

An electronic version of the plans in PDF format that can be viewed using Adobe Reader. After credit card authorisation the file will be sent to the email address put on the order form.