Trimaran Trimaran A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recreation or racing; others are ferries or warships. The word "trimaran" is a portmanteau of "Tri" and "(Cata)maran". It is thought to have been invented by Victor Tchetchet, a pioneering, Ukrainian-born modern multihull designer. The first trimarans were developed by the Austronesian people and are still widely used today by traditional fishermen in maritime Southeast Asia, Madagascar, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Some of
Trimaran the current US terminology is derived from the Polynesian terminology. Sailing catamarans and trimarans gained popularity during the 1960s and 1970s. Amateur development of the modern sailing trimaran started in 1945 with the efforts of Victor Tchetchet, a Ukrainian émigré to the US, who built two trimarans made of marine plywood, which were about 24 feet (7 metres) long. He is credited with coining the term, "trimaran." In the 1950s and 60s, Arthur Piver designed and built plywood kit trimarans, which were adopted by other homebuilders, but were heavy and not sea-kindly by modern standards. Some of these achieved ocean