Tri hulls

[bigcuddydave]

Why does everyone I ask say Tri hulls suck? Thay say that thay don't turn sharp, and don't take big wakes. I was thinking on buying one, a 15ft. tri hull.

 

[one more cast]

Re: Tri hulls

I have an old 14' tri with a 40 horse and it is a very stable fishing boat.I like it.

 

[22WRF]

Re: Tri hulls

Tri hull designs went out of favor years ago.<br /><br />Doubt if many that has owned one ever bought a second one.<br /><br />They seem make good ski boats on flat water. That's the only positive thing can can say about them.<br />Even at that they are gas guzzlers, and give a wet ride in any sort of chop.<br /><br />1 17' Invader was enough for me

 

[bigcuddydave]

Re: Tri hulls

Thanks one more cast and LCM-8 the boat iam looking at is a 1976 15ft phantom with a 50HP mercury on it.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Tri hulls

Dave - Tri hulls are not that bad. They give you more interior space than some other designs. I ran a 19' Glastron for 15 years here in the Miami area. It was great for my young family. I have three kids who loved to sit up forward and there was still space in the back. Yes mine pounded in moderate chop and I would not take it off shore into the Gulf Stream unless the water was near flat calm but it worked well for us at the time.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Tri hulls

It also depends on the individual design. My trihull has a more pronounced V in its design, more deadrise. The outer sponsons aren't as pronounced at the transom, and there are lifting strakes on the bottom to get it on plane. Yeah, they do pound a bit in chop, but my particular design handles the chop better for some reason. I have never figured out the gas hog thing. Unless you have a flat bottom boat your screwed if you are looking to plane at 3 knots. I went with a tri-hull for my center console conversion because it has more room for its length and is more stable than a v hull. In the end, it depends on what you are looking to accomplish with the boat.<br /><br />One last thing, there is one last company that has stuck with the tri-hull concept, and have refined it quite well, but owners of these boats will probably never accept the truth.<br /><br />That company is none other than Boston Whaler.<br /><br />Let the screams of "outrage" begin...

 

[bigcuddydave]

Re: Tri hulls

Thanks SoLittle and JasonJ , I have a 20ft cuddy cabin right now but its to big and every time you turn around its $100 bucks here and a $200 bucks there, And theres no room on it. For a 20ft boat it only holds six and thats with me, And with six in the boat you cant move at all. The 15ft tri hull iam looking at look like you could have 10 on board and still have room to play twister

 

[Jack Shellac]

Re: Tri hulls

I don't think there's anything basically wrong with a tri-hull if it suits your purposes. They have a lot of wetted surface and consequently, a lot of water friction. Speed demons they are not, but there have been some good tri-hulls made-- McKee and of course, Boston Whaler. I don't believe you'll find anyone who says that Boston Whaler is not a good boat.

 

[River fish]

Re: Tri hulls

I didn't have any complaints about my old Tri-hull,It was a 15'runabout w/ 80 evinrude that I set up for fishing and it turned very sharp, about the only bad things were that it was slow to get up on plane and had somewhat of a rough ride in anything less than smooth water surface, although mine never had any " wet " spray problems, that might just be a trim adjustment, and yes it was thirsty for fuel also.

 

[DJ]

Re: Tri hulls

Nothing wrong with tri hulls.<br /><br />Unfortunately, they have absolutely NO sex appeal, thus as everything goes.<br /><br />Heck, Boston Whalers are tri hulls. But, everyone knows-they aren't, like-WAY COOOOL!

 

[BillP]

Re: Tri hulls

I've owned several tri-hulls and they are excellent if used in the right conditions. They are user friendly for moving about when docking, launching, fishing, skiing and lounging bowrider style. Great party boats...second to pontoon boats. The sponsons give more stability and more weight too. I didn't notice turning as a problem compared to any monohull owned. Generally, they just have more usable room (and displacement) for the length compared to a monohull. <br /><br />The downside is they have a big frontal area to hit waves with. Nothing pounds worse than a tri-hull in big chop so the boat needs to be sized to the waves you will see. Monohulls rule in this regard. Boston Whaler has recognized this and started designing out the "tri" in their designs...you see few whalers offshore and ride is the reason. Sure the hull can take it but the passengers can't.

 

[JerseyJim]

Re: Tri hulls

Thanks SoLittle and JasonJ , I have a 20ft cuddy cabin right now but its to big and every time you turn around its $100 bucks here and a $200 bucks there, And theres no room on it.<br />

just because its a tri-hull doesnt mean it wont be a hole where you throw money. <br /><br />My little tri hull doesnt cost me anything except for motor maintenence - but she's a boston whaler. <br /><br />

For a 20ft boat it only holds six and thats with me, And with six in the boat you cant move at all. The 15ft tri hull iam looking at look like you could have 10 on board and still have room to play twister

well just dont overload the damned thing. I dont like to put more than 4 people on any boat under 25 feet.