Knowing Your Multihull: Catamarans, Trimarans, Proas - Including Sailing Yachts, Luxury Boats, Cabin Cruisers, New & Used Boats, Boats for Sale and Other Boat Designs

The “Must-Know” information about catamarans, trimarans & proas for every multihull owner or prospective buyer. This includes buying information and understanding the most important areas of boat maintenance for your vessel. Multihull expert John Marples gives you all the essential information, which covers sailing yachts, luxury boats, cabin cruisers, new boats, used boats, boats for sale and small boat designs.
Multihull owners can protect their investment, or save themselves a lot of grief, when it comes to these unique craft, including:

-- What can multihulls offer, in the way of service and performance today, as compared to monohulls … How production fiberglass multihulls serve the current marketplace

-- Why homebuilt multihulls could be the best (or worst) opportunity for a sailor to get his hands on one of these types of boats

-- Why understanding the "multihull platform" is one of the most important concepts that a new multihull owner will ever grasp ... How the platform concept affects important aspects of both sailing and maintenance

-- What are the main stress points of a multihull’s platform? (Knowing these can save you loads of grief in the longevity of your boat)

-- Why stiffness and rigidity are important maintenance factors in most multihulls ... What many boat designers do in order to increase the strength of their designs

-- One design flaw that affects sailing performance on many cruising cats … Danger signs when sailing (main differences between cats and tris)

-- How cockpit design affects multihull rigidity (Why this must be considered when choosing a multihull) … How properly engineered multihulls can keep boat owners from wasting time and money

-- #1 multihull mistake (It won't just decrease a boat's sailing performance -- it's downright dangerous)

-- Weight distribution differences among the 3 types of multihulls ... Why and how it matters when it comes to safe sailing and increased performance

-- How multihulls and monohulls handle wind gusts differently … How ballast issues and low weight affect multihull performance ... Fundamental difference between monohull and multihull rigging

-- How to easily perform routine maintenance tasks on cruising multihulls during an extended cruise … Why repairing a multihull is often preferable to performing the same type of repair on a monohull

-- Main areas for multihull maintenance (What are they ... and why?) … Easiest (yet most neglected) maintenance issue to take care of in multihulls (this results in the #1 enemy to the health of your boat)

-- Why fiberglass production boats suffer from mildew and rot (just like wooden boats) … How your nose can be become a great "maintenance tool" when it comes to the life and care of your vessel

-- What to change out in the hulls each and every time you go sailing … Active (and passive) pieces of equipment to help make your boat last for decades of active enjoyment

-- Pieces of equipment to include in the engine room (many designers & boat manufacturers neglect to adequately address this issue, which makes having this equipment a good idea) … An often-overlooked issue when it comes to accessing the engine area (it's so obvious that many individuals completely forget to check it)

-- Common visual signs of corrosion and/or damage in certain areas of a multihull -- Many boat owners and potential boat buyers either ignore (or are unknowing) about them

-- Typical problems found in "older" multihulls (Understand why they occur and how to fix them as inexpensively as possible)

-- Avoiding common mistakes found in headstay chainplates ... Chainplate errors that will increase corrosion and breakage (how to keep this from happening on your craft)

-- #1 way small multihulls suffer from damage (the answer may surprise you) -- Note: This problem affects BOTH fiberglass and wooden boats (how you can avoid it)

-- And much more!