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
Pontoon bridge using a single 'o'. The U.S. military differentiated between the bridge itself ("ponton") and the floats used to provide buoyancy ("pontoon"). The original word was derived from Old French "ponton", from Latin "ponto" ("ferryboat"), from "pons" ("bridge"). When designing a pontoon bridge, the civil engineer must take into consideration the Archimedes' principle: Each pontoon can support a load equal to the mass of the water that it displaces. This load includes the mass of the bridge and the pontoon itself. If the maximum load of a bridge section is exceeded, one or more pontoons become submerged. Flexible connections have to