A MATTER OF SAFETY
Multihull safety has always been an issue of interest, and sometimes a controversial issue in the past. But, in reality, nothing is 100% safe, and multihulls can capsize, just as monohulls can sink, cars can be rolled over, or aircraft crash, and the debate over their relative safety will probably never end.
But, although multihulls can capsize, their total unsinkability and the development of capsize safety features has now given them one of the best safety records in sailing. There have been very few lives lost in the past 10 years, particularly when compared to monohull sinkings or light aircraft crashes.
This F-27 has had all three hulls flooded, yet it is still floating high. The total unsinkability means
the boat will never disappear. There is always something to sit on, right way up or wrong way.
Farrier cruising designs have now established a capsize ratio over the past 20 years, with over 2000 boats sailing, of around 0.2%, which actually makes them two to three times safer than light aircraft. The risk of capsize looks to be about the same as having a significant automobile accident, and, as with a car, a capsize or accident is easily avoided by reducing sail or speed to suit the conditions, or just sensible driving.
This monohull is just about to sink, leaving the crew in the water to fend for themselves.
Not a good situation, and one that can be deadly for the crew. Photos of monohull sinkings
are actually very hard to find, as the evidence can disappear so quickly, so they seldom get
much publicity.
The monohull solution for safety has always been to weigh the boat down to where it is very difficult to capsize, or cannot go fast enough to get into trouble. This is simple, has worked well, but a heavy lead keel makes a boat slow and sinkable. Sinking actually happens much more often than most realize, due to nothing being left, so photos are rare and there is little news coverage. At most, there is just a 3 line item in the back pages about an overdue boat.
However, few would make a car heavier and slower to make it safer, safety instead being left to good judgment, improving handling, and better brakes etc. Now even monohulls are also becoming lighter, and more complex with canting keels etc., in order to improve performance and handling, so they are getting better, but still lag well behind the multihull.
This is about as bad as it can get with a tri that has capsized, but crew remain relatively safe. These
photos are much easier to find, as the boat will not sink and stays around to support the crew.
Better still, the boat is usually always recoverable
However, now that multihulls have established themselves as a safe, faster, and more comfortable alternative, there has been an unfortunate trend in recent years to go even faster, and compromise safety. Some designers are putting on taller and taller rigs, while greatly reducing accommodation, for even more speed. One such design now has the unenviable capsize ratio of 78% with 15 of 19 delivered having capsized.
A few have even claimed that such highly powered boats make good cruisers, even though they can fly a hull in only 10 to 14 knots of wind. But this is an irresponsible power to weight ratio for any cruising boat, and in contrast, it takes around 26 to 35 knots of wind before one can fly a hull on a Farrier design, including the racing versions.
Unfortunately some multihull configurations are not as efficient as others, and it is easy for designers to take the easy way of more power to overcome any such performance deficiencies. Some also boast on their websites on how much faster their creations are than an F-boat, now regarded as the benchmark by many. But few disclose that the higher performance is only achieved at the expense of room and safety.
So if considering a multihull, then be aware that there are multihulls and multihulls. Always check the safety record and ask what the wind capsize force is. This is the theoretical wind speed at which point a catamaran windward hull, or the trimaran’s center hull will lift out of the water with working sails. This figure is over 30 knots on all Farrier cruising designs, which has given one of the best safety records of any cruising multihull.
There is a place for the more extreme and highly powered multihulls, but as dedicated racers only, and they should never be sold or promoted as cruisers.
This cat has capsized, but crew again remain safe, even comfortable. Photo by www.pix-u.com.
Capsizes don't just happen - they are easily avoidable by simply sailing to suit conditions.
In fact most multihull capsizes only happen while racing, as in this case, and with the tri above,
due to the crew pushing the limits. In contrast, cruising multihull capsizes are very rare.
