JT's New Tricycle

JT (John Tetzlaff) is a sparmaker and is well known around multihull circles for his adventures with tortured ply cats, most recently the 8.5's Attitude and Epsom Salts.

John thinks the sport has gone a bit silly with the costs and his boats reflect his philosophy of keeping it simple, affordable and fun. Check the 8.5 results for the season and you'll see they are not slow either.



But the damn thing had no accommodation, hence a new tri, which in his words represents the smallest boat he could build with a double bed. As good a design spec as any I've heard.

To get the shape he wanted in the main hull he used strip planking to the "chine", and ply above. The outer hulls are the opposite, his tried and trusted tortured ply for the hulls, but stripped decks to get the contour he was after. He's very happy with the result.

And the cost of these hulls (materials) can be measured in hundreds not thousands of dollars.



He was also grinning about a carbon wing in the shed that he picked up as a reject for pennies on the dollar, though his eyes nearly watered at the thought of cutting it down 600 to fit the rule.



His best estimate of cost for the finished boat is around $30,000. That excludes his labour, there are no design fees, and of course he has a shed and I don't think he included rent in that figure. Still impressive.



The other boat in the shed that appears to be mating with his in the photo, is a Farrier 9 point something, nearing completion. By comparison this boat has been estimated to have cost $200,000 (he has included labour, this is closer to what it would cost for a third party to have ordered it), but Steve the owner/builder says with price increases that would be nearer $300,000 today.

Considering the truly enormous number of new monos being built in NZ for NZ owners, the multihull scene is looking pretty healthy.