Corsair trimarans fold on water, off water and with effortless ease. Most models fold within the width of similar-lengthed monohulls! This allows a level of versatility unachievable in a conventional trimaran due to the huge beam required for high performance sailing. Simply put, in our 30 year experience, for a trimaran to be viable for most users, it must be able to fold with ease and not increase its length when folded.
Here’s how we fit a boat with 6.8m beam into into a 2.5m berth.
Four upper solid aluminum compression struts, eight solid aluminum lower struts, 32 high-tensile Nitron pins, 64 high load grp bearings and four 1/2″ bolts. Sounds complicated – but to the contrary in practice it is extremely simple and easy. Hats off to the designers of this rugged and unbeatable system – exhaustive engineering and R&D has gone into the geometry and development of this design. And after 30 years and 3000 trimaran sailboats on the water (see Corsair History) we can safely say this folding system is bulletproof!
You will notice all of the equipment listed above are structurally solid, high load materials. No ropes or wires are involved in the structure of the floats and beams on our trimarans. At best, ropes allow for stretch, but at worst, fatigue and failure. Not only does the solid aluminum system offer supreme strength and reliability but it also produces an extremely stiff sailing platform.
The system geometry has been balanced perfectly, allowing a constant arc of the cap shrouds and constant buoyancy displacement across the waterline. This balance has been fine-tuned over the years and now on our newest trimaran models is perfected. The displacement consistency allows the float to be folded by one person with minimal effort. You can fold and unfold in seconds! On our smaller models (such as the Corsair 760) you don’t even need to touch the cap shrouds to fold.
After unfolding the system, the skipper simply tightens 4 bolts and off you go. You are up and running in under 2 minutes! The geometry of the solid folding system produces minimal loads on the four removable beam bolts used to hold the system in place when sailing. No need to adjust nets or rigging, you just lock down the bolts and it is all set… The next time you unfold and set sail without a second thought, pause for a second and consider the detail and engineering that has enabled your sail to be so effortless and worry free!
Now that you have a better understanding of how the folding system on our trimarans works. Check out our quick guide on how to set up a Corsair trimaran (featuring the Corsair 880).
Read more:
16 great reasons why so many sailors are choosing Corsair Trimarans
