The New F-22 Sport Tri
A Low Cost Trailerable Trimaran

The F-22™ is a brand new design developed in New Zealand by Farrier Marine (NZ) Ltd, who will be building kit components, and possibly complete boats. In the meantime, the F-22™ is available in plan form for those who wish to build their own.

A low cost entry level trailerable trimaran was first thought about in the late nineties, with details of the initial concept boat being published in 2001. Folding trimarans are complex craft and difficult to build at low cost. The F-22™ is intended to be a light weight, roomy, low cost trailerable trimaran. The F-22™ comes in two basic models, the full cabin cruising version as shown above, and a large cockpit cuddy cabin version as shown below.

The cuddy cabin version is the perfect day sailer/racer, and it is possible to convert the cuddy cabin into the full cabin cruiser version later should this be required for maximum resale value. A very interesting option for the cuddy cabin version is the optional aft cabin. One then has a huge central cockpit, that can be fully enclosed by canvas to make a large living area, along with two below deck double bunks, one in the bow and one in the stern. The potential of this version, with its overnight capabilities and extra room, coupled with a huge central cockpit for day sailing, is very impressive.

Overall, the main design objective for all versions was to achieve just the right balance between room, performance, and safety. Like all Farrier designs, the F-22™ will be a true and practical cruiser, but one that also happens to perform very well. The other main requirement was to keep both cost and building time down, and, to help achieve this, many aspects of the F-22™ from design and building to marketing are being done differently to previous plans.

The F-22™ is intended to be a modernized and easier to build version of the Farrier Trailertri 680/720, which pioneered the folding trimaran concept back in the nineteen seventies and eighties. Hundreds of such Trailertris were built from scratch by many who had never built a boat before, and these first generation Farrier designs proved that the trailerable trimaran had a great future.

The F-22™ features an even more integrated and further improved third generation beam and folding system, as developed for the F-33 and F-32. It retains the current and well proven hull lines, with evolutionary improvements, coupled with many detail upgrades.

Hulls: Main hull lines have been optimized further with higher displacement being achieved with lower wetted surface area. It has a slightly flatter bottom with less rocker so it will plane earlier. More interior room has also been created by optimizing main hull 'underwing' shape to exactly match the folded float sides.

Floats are larger with much more buoyancy, lower down and further forward, for maximum performance and a lower heel angle. The extra buoyancy in the bows is very important for todays taller rigs. The F-22™ floats actually have more buoyancy than those used on the F-24. Floats are also flangeless as on the F-33 for that much cleaner, smoother look, and less drag.

Deck: The cockpit is very long and a little wider than earlier designs giving a more spacious feel. The usual cockpit bridge is eliminated by some careful engineering and replaced by a removable compression strut, for use only when needed (e.g. when racing). This will leave the aft mounted traveler as the only obstacle across the cockpit, but one that is well out of the way.

The cabin roof camber and edge rounding have both been reduced to make cabin top more user friendly, safer to walk on, and easier to build. For lower weight and cost, only one winch will be required on most models, and this will be able to control all sheets and halyards.

Beams: The new F-33 style third generation beams and folding system are probably the biggest difference over earlier designs, with slimmer, more curved beams, that are set significantly higher. Beam tops are wide and relatively flat, for convenient and safe walking areas, while the wide overlapping flanges deflect any spray down, and cover the lashing gap along wingnet edges, eliminating any chance of feet going through this area.

Folding struts are anchored directly to the beams (no metal brackets), but using an even simpler system to keep costs low. The shorter beams are mounted externally to the cabin, for more interior room, and give a significantly lower trailering height with less windage when towing (less fuel required).

Rig: This will be very simple, with rotating mast, all synthetic shrouds, and carbon fiber chainplates - turnbuckles and all metal parts have been eliminated wherever possible.

Sails: Three sails will be standard, for simplicity and ease of use, these being main, jib, and a larger screacher. Mainsail will be boomless, to save both weight and cost (and sore heads), while the longer luff of the boomless main is more efficient, and gives a lower center of effort. A roller furling boom is optional. Jib tack and/or furler (if used) is mounted below foredeck, for a deck sweeping jib for maximum efficiency, while also keeping sail area low where it should be. Screacher will mount to the end of the aluminum bow pole, which can be removed/retracted onto foredeck by simply pulling one pin at deck level. No need to undo bobstay, or have a complicated release system.

Other performance options for open races (not for class racing) will be a spinnaker, and a tall roller furling genoa. To make headsail changing quick and easy, the F-22™ will have a new 'forestay rack', which is a carbon fiber web in the bow with three separate built-in mounting points for headsails or forestay. These are intended for the jib (below deck), the opt. roller furling genoa (just in front of bow), and an extra 'backup' synthetic forestay should this be desired. Such a setup means the stainless steel forestay or luff wires can be safely replaced by synthetics. With this setup, the genoa can be hoisted and unfurled while jib is in position and working until genoa is set. Jib is then dropped.

Performance level will be quite high due to the light weight, but not scaringly so with the efficient low profile rig. For experienced sailors who like to sail on the edge, a higher racing 'R' rig will be optional, and this will make the F-22™ even faster than the F-24, and maybe as fast as the F-82.

Foils: Daggerboard or centerboard options are available. The daggerboard is the simplest and most efficient and its case helps to support the mast. The centerboard can be more convenient, its offset case taking up less room in the cabin, plus it will kick back should it hit bottom. Tapered foils are also now being used, as these can be longer with less wetted surface area - or more efficient.

Directional control is via the latest transom mounted retractable daggerboard rudder system, as recently developed for the F-82, for maximum efficiency and simplicity.

Auxiliary: An outboard of 4 to 8 HP is recommended, and this is mounted on an offset bracket, forward of the stern, to minimize cavitation.

Start :: the interior :: the folding system :: building :: performance :: the plans

Ian Farrier
Farrier Marine, Inc.
January 2008