In summary - the hulls guaranteed, all bulkheads, extra glass for finishing, all plans are one bundle, asking $30,000, open to offers. The mast, complete with standing rigging & lights, transport paid Ontario- Florida (or a similar distance, I assume), brand new, never outside, $20,000. Open to offers. contact Suzanne Heron and Dolf Schoenmakers. Email Suzanne Heron

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The owner of "Mazinga", the 45 Ft sailing trimaran, see Images. and Race results, has been talking to John Shuttleworth for a number of years about a new open ocean cruising power tri. The basic cruising area would include Singapore, The Philippines. Hong Kong, and Indonesia. This has led to the development of a new 40 metre Power Trimaran.

Based on the original concept developed by Nigel Irens in Ilan Voyager and Cable and wireless, this new boat is a departure from previous yachts of this type in that we have achieved comfortable accommodation for 10 guests and 4 permanent crew. This PDF file shows part of the layout. power-40m.pdf

The boat will be powered by a single 1000 HP inboard diesel giving a top speed of 24 knots. Range will be 3000+ miles for long distance ocean voyaging, and around the world capability.

A considerable amount of work has already been done on the design, including tank testing and the building of a 6 ft long radio controlled model with outrigger that can be raised and lowered independently by radio control. This has meant that we could test the performance of the boat in waves with varying outrigger height. By filming the boat in waves of varying height and wavelength we have been able to study the motion in detail. We could then correlate this with the tank test results to find the optimum position of the outrigger in relation to the main hull. We have been able to demonstrate that outrigger immersion has a very significant effect on roll damping in this type of vessel.

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Currently White Young and Green http://www.wyg.com/6what_we_do/services/specialist-structures.htm are carrying out a full finite element analysis of the whole structure as designed by John Shuttleworth. The picture of the computer model for the FE analysis shows a different colour for every laminate on the boat.
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Building should start within three months, with and anticipated build time of 18 months.

More images of model and tank testing here. Power 40m Tri Thumbnails

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Mark Delany of Two Oceans Marine is preparing to build moulds for the new Powershuttle 44 bridgedeck Cat. This new design based on the tank-test data from the Powershuttle 40 and the new 134 ft Power tri will be offered in 3 versions. Open Bridgedeck like the Powershuttle 40, Bridgedeck Cabin, and Flybridge. All three version can have either 2 x 150 HP 4 stroke outboards, or two x 160 HP inboard diesels.

Performance prediction:

21.8 knots at 2 x 130 HP (cruising)
23.2 knots max at 2 x 150 HP

Loaded with fuel and water ( 2400 Kg )
18.4 knots at 2 x 130 HP (cruising)
19.5 knots max at 2 x 150 HP

LOA = 13.4 m
BOA = 7.4 m
Displacement = 8400 Kgs fully loaded (Flybridge version.)
Displacement light = 5300 Kgs (open bridgedeck / outboards version.)

Visit Two Oceans Website. http://www.2oceans.co.za
PDF file of layout of Powershuttle 44.
PDF file of accommodation of Powershuttle 44.

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Daphne Becker owns a beautiful marina at Tortugal on the Rio Dulce, on the Caribbean coast of Guatemala. They are very multihull friendly and it is a wonderful place to visit. The trip up the Rio Dulce takes you through an extraordinary gorge and then into a beautiful lake. The accommodation is comfortable and the restaurant is very good in a lovely setting overlooking the Rio. http://www.tortugal.com/

Bandaloop is in fine condition following an extensive refit. They have built a special dock for her giving access all round the boat.

Owner Mark Van Niekerk comments after a trouble free voyage from Cape Town to Trinidad. First 5000 miles of ocean sailing completed. "The performance really exceeded my expectations. You saw the mileages and we never pushed. Particularly memorable was the last 5 days when we were on slightly more than a beam reach with between 13 to 18 knots and , with 2 reefs in the main and the working jib we were achieving 7 to 8 knots through the water and perfectly balanced - I would switch off the auto pilot for 20 minutes at a time without touching the wheel. Since I have not crossed an ocean before on a cat maybe my expectations were low! However, I have had a number of cat owners on my boat and we have anecdotally shared experiences and none were as fast as LAD and most experienced discomfort - particularly water slapping on the bridge deck.

Comfort is unbelievable. I truly marvel at how gently she rides the waves and swell. It would be fairly rough with 20 to 30 knots of wind and we would be sitting at the saloon table eating soup out of a bowl with our wine glasses scarcely showing any sign of movement.

I could say more and would be happy to address particular areas if you would like.

Kind Regards,

Mark"

Download PDF file of article about the boat in "South Africa's Sail magazine. Shuttle-47ft-Cat-Boat-Test

The boat has been beautifully built by Two Oceans Marine in Cape Town, and she sailed exceptionally well in the strong breezes in Table Bay. We reached a top speed of 18.4 knots and she tacked through 80 degrees effortlessly. The owner, Mark Van Niekerk, is very happy with the outcome and the the whole project. You can read his comments and see several more photos on his blog at http://unemployedsailor.blogspot.com/

For sailing trials photos and interior shots see: "Life's a Dream" sailing trials and interior

More images of the Tektron 50

Article about the design of the Tektron 50

Photos by Tom Horsfall. www.tomhorsfall.com

Caledonia was built by Rod Stuart in 1987. Rod sailed her to record win in class 6 of the Single handed Transatlantic Race in 1988, (see Race results). She was then renamed Meridian and, sailed by Roger Barber, she led the previous race against much larger boats until she was dismasted off Scotland. ( See earlier news item on this page.) Now renamed Kenmore, and extensively refitted, she is still considered to be a potential winner in the Shetland around Britain and Ireland race. Nick Bubb and Pete Cumming will co-skipper the boat this time, and have fitted Kenmore with a new 15 metre Carbon Mast.

24 year old art student Lia Ditton successfully completed the 2005 Faraday Mill OSTAR from Plymouth England to Newport Rhode Island USA. In a race where over half the fleet retired and after surviving a massive storm in mid atlantic, Lia Ditton arrived Safely in Newport. Lia wrote amazing accounts of her experiences during the race which were published on www.thedailysail.com

Lia is planning to ship the boat back from Newport and then to place the boat on display outside the Tate Modern Gallery in London in September, with a very special paint on the outside that changes colour with temperature. This will form a part of her final year art project.

Orion Shuttleworth has produced photo-realistic images of the Powershuttle 40 being built in Florida by Dale Schneider. This 25 plus knot environmentally friendly catamaran, utilises the new 90 or 130 HP Honda or Suzuki 4 stroke outboards giving extraordinary fuel economy compared to conventional power boats, and yet the Powershuttle 40 has excellent accommodation, including a huge shaded cockpit, and dive platform aft.

Read more under Selected Designs

Or view 3D images and shots of the boat being built, including a view of the revolutionary new hull shape developed in the tank at Southampton University.Powershuttle 40 images

Or view tank test images in the tank at Southampton University.Powershuttle 40 tank test images

After achieving a first class degree in Product Design, Orion Shuttleworth has started producing stunning 3D graphic images of trimarans and catamarans using solidworks 2005. These photorealistic images of the yachts are in full 3D modelling with rotating animations and cutaways. All the 3D images of "Spirit of Teignmouth", the new Eleri and the Tek 35 have been drawn by Orion.

Orion is also involved in developing kiteboards with his brother Sky, and they have a fully equipped workshop with a powerful vacuum system to produce the boards. Several new shapes are under test at this time, and some custom boards are available for sale. For more information on the kiteboards or the 3D graphics... Email orionshuttleworth@yahoo.com

The Advantage 44 with a new flowing deck line, both more modern and more aerodynamic, becomes the Cerys 1330. The Ocean Cheetah, now 38 feet and with a marginally wider beam to accommodate a forward facing chart table in the bridge deck saloon, becomes the Falmai 1080. New, improved hull moulds are being built for the "Tek 35" which is now the Nia 1080, All are to be built with epoxy resins only in the foam cored composite, as are the other designs Boiling frog are offering, the Yona 950 (the Shuttle 31) and the stunning newly commissioned design, exclusive to Boiling Frog, the Eleri 1400 (at 14m/46 ft.). The Eleri 1400 is the first build underway.

John Shuttleworth is moving house and office.

Green Farm Barn
The Pike
Washington
West Sussex RH20 4AA
ENGLAND

Tel and Fax: +44 (0) 1903 891 428

News in from Gary Pearce aboard the Shuttle 40 Zazen.

"Just to let you all know that Zazen has safely made the full Pacific crossing arriving in Coffs Harbour on Monday Oct 26th at lunchtime local time (midnight on Sunday evening for you UK based chaps) Full newsletter for the final few months will follow shortly but let it be said that the Pacific did not let us escape easily. The final 24 hours before we arrived we had a full gale out at sea with sustained wind over 30k for 8 hours and over 40 for 2 and a max reading of 49.7! Breaking seas with 9m waves. Zazen performed very well with the sea drogue out and the storm jib but it has taken the crew and skipper a few days for nerves to return to normal! Luckily the price and availability of local beer here helped the nerves. We will wait here for the right weather to make the final 240nm to Sydney - a coastal passage.

all the best,

Jane and Gary, Alix and Lorin"

First Photos of the Ocean Cheetah

The Advantge 44 in Germany has sold. Female moulds for sale.

Burkhard Bader is selling the moulds (hull, coachroof, salon top) for the Advantage 44. contact John Suttleworth Burkhard Bader is still interested in building one off designs, and is showing a number of John Shuttleworth's designs on his site. See www.bader-boote.de

John Shuttleworth has just returned from the Caribbean

Powershuttle 40 progress report in from Dale Schneider.

New Shuttle 31 commissioned from Dale Schneider.

Gary Pearce writes from St. Lucia.

New article about the building of the two Shuttle 31 catamarans

Fossailing team reach Elba, their final destination, on their two Shuttle 31 catamarans.

Map of voyage.

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The Fossailiing team of 12 sixteen to seventeen year old students at a Waldorf School in Switzerland have launched the two Shuttle 31 Catamarans that they have been building for the past two years. They have motored down the Rhine and sailed down the coast to Calais in France, where John Shuttleworth went to meet them and sail to Cowes as part of extended sailing trials.

After sailing from Calais to Cowes, John Shuttleworth spent three days sailing the two boats in the Solent in a variety of conditions. The boats are well built and look fantastic. With the wood epoxy strip planking left as a feature on the interior, they have a lovely wooden "feel" inside. Both boats sport the racing rig with Gougeon wing masts. "We chose Gougeon because they were the only masts we could build ourselves" said Thomas Wolf.

John Shuttleworth writes "The Fossailing team have clearly demonstrated that the Shuttle 31 is a good boat for amateurs to build. They chose to use my design for strip planked Western Red Cedar with glass fibre on both sides and although I predicted that they would add about 230 Kgs to the weight of the boat over a foam sandwich version, they are sure that they have added less weight by being very careful in the laminating process. Certainly the boats float on their marks and perform very well and we achieved 8 knots to windward tacking through 85 degrees. As usual easily outsailing any monohulls that we came across in the Solent. I have enjoyed the experience of sailing with this enthusiastic group of young people and I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate them all on a fine achievement. The boats look good, and I am sure they will have many years of enjoyable and fun sailing on them."

The teams sailed the two boats in the Solent near Cowes for a few weeks to fully prepare themselves for the trip to Elba. They sailed across the English channel, through the Bay of Biscay, down the Spanish and Portuguese coasts, and into the Mediterranean. They arrived safely in Elba on September the 23rd, having covered 3500 miles. A very successful end to an amazing project. Read more about the project at www.fossailing.com

John Shuttleworth joined Gary Pearce and his family on their first leg south en route to Australia aboard "Zazen".

John Shuttleworth set sail two weeks ago aboard "Zazen" to sail from Falmouth in England to north west Spain across the Bay of Biscay. He had been invited to help Gary and Jane Pearce and their two Children Alix and Lorin, to get started on their Voyage to Australia. Photos of the trip, and some new ones of the Shuttle 40 "Zazen" can be seen at "Biscay trip photos."

Gary Pearce bought Zazen from John Shuttleworth two years ago, and has spent the time finishing the interior and rigging the boat. Although there were some details of the fit out to complete, Gary decided to head south to get clear of the winter weather in the Bay of Biscay.

John Shuttleworth writes "We set off with a force 4 to 6 NW winds forecast, which was perfect for us. Needless to say the Wind was WSW F2 to 3 for the first 12 hours, then flat calm with fog, followed by NE F4 to 6 for the last 12 hours.

This meant that we motored for about 50 hours, using the radar to avoid the huge ships that travel up and down that route, but when the wind blew we had a fabulous sail. The boat performed excellently and we still managed a comfortable 3 days for the 500 mile trip.

The Shuttle 40 proved to be ideal for long distance family cruising, with lots of space for people to get on with whatever they were doing, without feeling at all crowded. The autopilot worked well so we rarely had to steer, and even tacking could be done from below by dialling in a tack on the autopilot, and the boat would just tack effortlessly. This is one of the great advantages of the self tacking jib. No sheets to haul in, and no flogging lines to hurt the crew. The children were busy during the day with reading, painting, and whale and dolphin watching."

John left the boat in Muros after a most enjoyable few days in the Spanish Rias, and he wishes Gary and his crew fair winds as they join the annual Yacht migration south toward the Caribbean.

John Shuttleworth joins the crew on board ProVu for the 2002 Round the Island Race.

The Provu team competing with the Formula 40 trimaran "ProVu", formerly "Biscuits Cantreau", were using Round the Island Race as a shakedown and evaluation exercise and still achieved a respectable 3rd over the line (out of 1600 boats). John Shuttleworth continues as part of the ProVu racing team as technical advisor, as Peter Bryant continues to develop a racing team and move into serious multihull racing. For more information take a look at the ProVu web site.

Meridian dismasted after severe gales in the Round Britain and Ireland race.

Meridian the 30 ft Shuttleworth Trimaran was dismasted on the thrid leg of the Round Britain and Ireland race. A severe force 10 storm had bunched up the fleet as they waited to depart for Lerwick in the Shetlands. The tough decision facing all the skippers was how soon to leave, as the storm abated. The dimasting occurred when they crash gybed in strong winds while pushing to maintain their lead over the 40 ft Trimaran "Mollymawk" which eventually went on to win the race. The crew are safe, and Meridian has motored into Lerwick but is out of the race. Congratulations to Roger Barber and his crew for their amazing first two legs. We are looking forward to seeing him back on the racing circuit soon. And congratulations to Ross Hobson on a fine and well deserved overall win.

Meridian holds onto lead in the Round Britain and Ireland race.

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Meridian has an 18 hours and 23 minute lead over the next boat in her class and is putting in an astonishing performance for a boat in class 4.

The race results can be found at Royla Western Yacht Club Race results

Meridian the Shuttleworth 30 ft racing trimaran that won the around the island race in 2000 wins the first leg of the two handed around Britain and Ireland race.

13 boats have been forced to retire from the total entry of 38 on the first stage to Cork, Ireland of the Round Britain and Ireland Race. Strong winds have pounded the fleet, with dismastings, broken daggerboards and crew health problems. Among those who have been forced to retire are 'Spirit of England', skippered by Sir Robin Knox Johnston, and the all women team on QII, Becky Walford and Mary Faulk

The first finishers in Cork last night, and in the early hours of this morning were at 23:00 hours on the 10 June the 30ft trimaran 'Meridian', followed three hours later by the 40ft trimaran 'Molly Mawk', and third in was 'Roaring Fourty', the class 3 winner in 1998, who have since retired from the race.

After 2 years of hard work the Foss sailing team of young people have Launched their first Shuttle 31

Teacher and team leader Thomas Wolf writes: Our shipbuilding is a highschool project with twelve students. We will finish in May 2002. Then we will make a journey over Rhein, Main, Donau to the Mediterranian. The students write "We are twelve students at the age of 16-17 years. We visit a Waldorfschool in Muttenz, Baselland. Our project is to build two Shuttle 31 during two years. Two afternoons per week we work at the boats. While our schoolmates attend special courses like working on a farm we will solely concentrate on building the boats. Also during the holidays we will sacrifice some weeks for the project."

Progress report as of 12th June 2002 is as follows: "We launched the first Shutle 31 in front of a large crowd with a few items still to complete. The boat slips very easily through the water, and we are looking forward to reaching Cowes in southern England with both boats around the last week of June." Part of the project is to make a web site. This can be seen at www.fossailing.com

The new article about "Design develoments in high performance cruising catamarans. From the Spectrum 42 to the Dogstar 50." Available in English and German

Designed in 2001, the Dogstar 50 ft cat takes the design of fast racer-cruiser catamarans to a new level of performance. Detailed drawings and calculations show how this type of design developed from the Spectrum 42 designed in 1984, and how this is achieved. For English and German versions take a look in Articles.

The Shuttle 40 "Zazen" is on sailing trials in the Solent.

John Shuttleworth accompanied Gary Pearce the owner of Zazen on sailing trials this week end (April 20). The boat sails incredibly well. With a clean bottom and the sails setting well, she easily exceeded wind speed. Acceleratiing with the slightest puff. The only mishap was breaking a spinnaker halyard in 7 to 8 knots of wind doing 12 knots. Dyneema is vulnerable in a jammer, and the plan is to use a cleat on the mast in future. Gary is working up to take the boat up to do the 3 peaks race, and the voyage up to Scotland should be a good shake down cruise. More on that will follow. look at Zazen sailing

Trimaran launched in Vienna.

A beautifully built wood epoxy 56 ft Trimaran has recently been launched in Vienna, and is now sailing in the Mediterranean. Dr. Hans Peter Ammerer has built this wooden version of my 56 ft Trimaran design himself. With a background in microsurgery, and a hobby of furniture making, Dr. Ammerer embarked on this big project, and has produced an extraordinary example of wooden boatbuilding. The outside is finished in clear Epoxy, showing the wood grain, and all the interior is in Carbon/Nomex to keep weight down. His first comments are "she is a delight to sail". For more information and amazing pictures of a helicopter launching the yacht into into the Danube, see Dr. Ammerer's web site www.trimaran.de.vu

A second Shuttleworth cat available for charter in the Caribbean

"Cat Maudy" an "Advantage 44"is available for sale or charter.
Theo Breiler writes "I beat all the cruising and 45 ft Moorings cats from South Africa when sailing up and down the St. Francis Drake Channel. Many a time in a stiff breeze of 25 knots and no reef, she goes to windward at a steady 10 to 12 knots. I am very, very pleased with the boat

Powershuttle 40 takes shape in Florida.

Dale Schneider reports from Pine Island Florida, "We are really enjoying the new shape of the powercat. Its absolutely great and looks beautiful in the shop."

This first picture shows one side of the hull strip planked in bead and cove Core-Cel foam. The foam is supplied cut into long planks approximately 2 inches wide. The hull is then planked up in the same way as a Cedar strip planked hull. This method is now favoured by many builders as the fastest way to build a one off or a prototype vessel.

Opportunity to charter a Shuttleworth 42 ft Cat.

"Timshel", the first Spectrum 42 designed and built for Bob Sutton is now available for charter in the Caribbean. Based in Grenada "Timshel" is well placed for Cruising the beautiful waters of the Caribbean. contact www.grenadasailing.com Click on thumbnail for larger picture or there are more photos of "Timshel" in Images.

Advantage 44 "Tigger" makes good time from the Scilly Isles to Falmouth.

Peter writes "Hi John, just thought we would pass on some comments. We took "Tigger" on a 3 week cruise to the West country our first real trip with sailing gear sorted and a clean bottom.

To give you a flavour we pulled the anchor up in Hugh Town, St Mary's (Isles of Scilly) at about 2pm and with slight seas and a North wind we set off for Falmouth 75nms away. We were sat down in the pub in Falmouth drinking our first pint at 10pm.

For the stretch to Wolf Rock we were reaching at an effortless 16 - 17 knots with a maximum speed of 19.2 Knots, even the dolphins got tired. But it also included a long beat in light winds into Falmouth itself.

We must be doing something right although there is still a lot more luck than judgement."

First Tek35 in England.

John Shuttleworth and his wife spent an enjoyable day sailing with Richard, Checking her out on all points of sail and testing the sail wardrobe. John comments "The boat tacks thorough 80 degrees, just outpointing a similar sized monohull in the Solent. Eugene Tekatch has provided the boat with a comprehensive wardrobe, and all the sails appear to be very well cut. I had a chance to test the first Tek35 with the sailmaker on board, and our discussion has definitely been fed back into the cutting of these sails."

Richard is very pleased with the boat, and some of the ideas he incorporated into his boat, are now being included in further production versions. More information on the Tek 35 and Tek Composites is available at www.unihedron.com/tek-composites/

The Tek 35 is now being built by Boiling Frog www.boilingfrog.co.uk

Burkhard Bader launches "Tonia" - a new Advantage 44 open bridgedeck Cat.

"Tonia" has now been launched in Germany. This is the first open bridgedeck Advantage 44 to be built. Using the same hull molds as the Bridgedeck saloon version of the Advantage 44, Burkhard Bader has produced a fine looking version of this well proven design. Click on thumbnail for larger picture or there are more photos of her building and after launching in Images. Burkhard Bader's website is at www.bader-boote.de

News item 16.7.01 .

Another good week for the Shuttleworth racing boats, ProVu and Meridian.

ProVu ( Shockwave) skippered by Alistair Wood and crewed by Peter Bryant and Charles Derbyshire racing in the RORC (Royal Ocean Racing Club) offshore race from Cowes to St. Malo was first to finish in class by a clear margin of 2 1/2 hours. ProVu and Meridian (campaigned by Roger Barber) went on to compete in a series of races around Dinard, and Meridian took first on handicap. For more details on these two boats see Selected Designs and Images

Hoya Round the Island Race. June 16th 2001

John Shuttleworth sister ships ProVu and Meridian take 3rd over the line and first in the grand Prix class out of a fleet of 1735 boats.

To read a full report on this exciting race and more on the background details on these two boats see Al Wood's report

Miami "Sail off"

Find out how the Shuttle 31 stacked up against two 40 ft open bridgedeck Cats and the Wormwood 35 "Merlin", in the Sail off organised by Multihulls Magazine in February 2001

Zeepoes around the world again.

Zeepoes the Shuttleworth 63 has been sold and refitted for another around the world voyage. After successfully circumnavigating with a crew, his wife and small child, David Holgate sold Samcat (ex Zeepoes) to Steve and Maria Ferguson. They have refitted the boat and added a fixed bimini over the cockpit. They set off last week for an extended around the world voyage with their 3 children. They intend to sail through the Mediterranean this summer.

Steve had Zeepoes surveyed after her fist around the world trip, and she came through with flying colours with no structural problems whatsoever. The Surveyor said "It would be inconsistent to find delamination on a boat as well built and designed as this one."

We wish Steve and Maria fair winds and a wonderful voyage.

"Mahilini" 35 ft Two Hoots type Cruiser Racer cat design.

Doug and Sharon Gibson are having a good time with their 35ft Cat in Hawaii. I asked Doug for some race results and he replied..."We hesitate to send you any race results for Mahilini because all the racing we do here locally is with keel boats under a PHRF handicapping system. We usually finish first, and first on corrected time, but occasionally lose corrected to one of the faster keelboats. The only multihull boats that ever come out are Farrier F-24's and an F-27, and occasionally a 40 ft Cantola Tri, no contest. However we are unable to keep up with some of our local Prindle 19's."

New Building Projects

8 Meter Cheetah

Ocean Cheetah 37

Bill Bullimore of Patrick Boyd Multihulls has bought the molds for the Ocean Cheetah 37 frorm Clyde Cats. Bill is proposing a new method of building where the owner leases the molds, and he assists in setting up the build project. The owner remains his own contractor, and thus avoids the overheads associated with a one off project. Details are available on the Patrick Boyd Site

Shuttle 40

A new Shuttle 40 has been commenced for an owner in Beaumont, Texas.

8 Meter Lynx

A new 8 Meter Lynx has been commenced in the USA for an owner in Langhorn, Philadelphia.

Tek35 News.

The Tek 35 is now being built by Boiling Frog www.boilingfrog.co.uk

Owner number two is settling in to the cruising life with his family in the Bahamas. Jeff writes" John, just dropping a line to tell you that we are enjoying the boat very much. We are in the Bahamas, hanging in Nassau for the moment before waiting for more settled weather to head on. Now that I am in my 30s, I have finally learned with the help of my kids, to slow down and do more hanging and less sailing from place to place. We actually had the drifter out the other day and found ourselves close reaching at about 5 knots in about 6-7 knots of wind. The design is great, and I expect that the size is a good compromise between big enough to be comfortable in everything and small enough to be a pleasure to handle in 99% of the stuff you sail in." Jeff adds: Did I mention that we won the Georgetown cruising regatta harbor race? on an 8 mile race we had a 7 minute margin on the next boat. Other cats were a lagoon 42 and a catana 401 ( and some assorted geminis and other non-competition). We took all the canvas and 800 lbs of stores off, and ran with empty water and near empty fuel tanks. At the awards ceremony we were referred to as "that rocketship Socia".

No.3 nears completion. The third Tek35 production boat. This one with striking dark blue hulls is bound for England where she will be moored in Salcombe. The boat will be sailed down to New York and then shipped to England in July.

Comment on First T35

The first production Tektron 35 "Cats Away" had just been launched and the final preparations for sailing were being made as I arrived at Royal Hamilton Yacht Club. She was floating well up on her marks with the transom clear of the water. The interior was basically fitted out but none of the cushions were in and some water tanks and electrics still needed to connected up.

We sailed in winds that we estimated were up to about 11 knots. Most of the time we sailed at close to wind speed with a maximum speed under Main and blade jib of 9.5 knots. There is a light genoa to be added to the sailing wardrobe like the one on the Shuttle 31

This large genoa will bring the boat speed up to equal wind speed in winds up to 15 knots apparent.

The boat feels light and responsive. Any change in wind speed results in immediate acceleration. Sailing at close to wind speed means that one knot increase in wind speed results in nearly two knots increase in apparent wind.

The finish on the outside of the Tektron 35 is excellent. The second one coming off the production line looks very striking with dark blue hulls. Eugene has incorporated many interesting ideas in the deck layout, and engine installation, which are all improvements as a result of sailing the earlier non production versions. The winch positions and layout of the lines all coming back to the cockpit with stoppers near the helmsman, works very well.

The steering was light and very responsive. The boat tacks on a dime. The only task we had when tacking was to push the jib traveller down by hand in the light winds we had on the lake.

The additional cuddies over the entrances also look good, and provide good access to the hulls. The dodger that covers the central seating in the cockpit is a good compromise. We were able to sail with this off and still retain the feel of an open bridgedeck boat - which I like. Yet there will be good shelter for the cockpit when in colder regions.

Inside, all the interior is built in modules in molds, then dropped in to the hull. At this stage bulkheads have been structurally glassed in already, therefore all that remains is to bond these modules in, and then finish to the joint of the mold with headlining.

7 boats are now on order, and Eugene Tekatch is building them in groups of three. With 15 men working hard, the shop is a busy place.

This is an exciting venture, and I am pleased that Eugene has taken up the challenge of producing a genuinely modern, fast and sophisticated Multihull with good accommodation. I think this boat will be in a class of it's own for many years to come.

Away She Goes, - First Kiss of the water, - Just launched, - Motoring Down the Freeway !, - Under Sail, - At the Dock, - Under Sail, - Under Sail, - Under Sail - Cockpit

Shockwave

The 34ft Shockwave racing trimaran has been chartered for the season by Peter Bryant. A full racing campaign is planned and a development program will be carried out with a view to designing a new 40 ft racer. Strain gauges will be fitted to the hulls, cross beams, running rigging and standing rigging. All the data will be fed into a computer concurrently. this will give us vital information as to how the boat is actually stressed in a seaway and at what rate of change. I will write more as we do the testing.