Tri-Hull pros & Con

[WIMUSKY]

Good post Swoosh. I'll just add the "everything else" is ride comfort/creature comforts............

The OP hasn't been active since 40mins after posting this ? Hopefully he's still following this thread. Still, nobody should get too worked up or have a debate here.... Pretty much everything that can be said, has been said........

 

[Texasmark]

Had two back in the day: A 1971 16' Chrysler Sport Fury 85 Chrysler, and a 1972 18' Caravelle, 125 Johnny, both bought new. Notice the first one only lasted one season. Too light hull too shallow seriously beat you and the family to death. Caravelle was a lot better as it was a LOT heavier and had a deeper center hull (like Cathedral but not too exaggerated) with lifting strakes which really made a difference. Had the bow seating which wasn't offered in monohulls back then and weren't that many sold around here anyway.....as stated the tri-hull was the craze. With bow seating you have a lot of usable space for the boat length. Without a closed in bow, in rough water can be challenging.

I only had 2 and never had another, will not have another. My choice is deep V, wide beam, access to the bow but not necessarily bow seating. The older you get the more you want to soften things up, but the Chrysler was a no no. Check for wood rot. Lot of things passed over then and you pay for it in a 20+ year boat.

 

[Maclin]

I have similar experience and "conclusions" as Texasmark. First boat was 1972 Chrysler Sport Satellite outboard 15.5 footer, semi blunt nose Trihull with 55hp, It planed quickly but was rough riding. I had it for 4 seasons. Had way too much fun in it though for what it was I just think they are a little heavy for their size, and did not seem all that much more stable at rest. Did have a little more room in the bow riding area I guess. It did corner very flat, and like I said had a lot of fun with it, just had to pick your days when chop and waves were acceptable.

The little 16 foot outboard I have now is a 1980 Glastron SSV for Super Stable Vee. It is not all that tippy at rest and is a very nice performer, rides way better than I would expect in chop and waves. Tends to go airborne though, must be in it's genes .

 

[MRS]

I have a 19ft Candia 4.3 omc yes omc with a cathedral hull deck boat style. Yes a little rough in the chop but did add slt Bennett tabs and love it for the stability when anchored or drift fishing.

 

[EZDuzIt]

I'm a few late to the party but I'll toss in my two cents. I have a 17.5' 1976 Apollo Tri Star I/O. Technically it's a cathedral hull as the sponsons sit higher than the center hull. I've been on actual tri hulls where all three points of contact with the water are even with each other. The difference is very noticeable in chop. I also draw a little more water than an actual tri hull but not much more. I've had my boat in 2-3' swells. It wasn't a smooth ride by any means or at any speed but it doesn't rattle my teeth out of my head like traditional tri hulls do. There's no debate that a V-hull is a much smoother ride. But the stability of my boat can't be beat. It's primary used for fishing but it's also used like any other day cruiser just cruising, pulling tubes and skiers, etc. Everybody who's on it comments on how stable it is. The cathedral hull also doesn't splash water over the bow like a traditional tri hull does. It's also very heavy at almost 3k lbs. On the scale it's 3800 lbs and I know the trailer weight right about 1k lbs. But it has the good ol GM 250 straight six making 165 hp. I wouldn't want any less than that; that's for damn sure. With a 17 pitch prop, just me in the boat, a half a tank of fuel and perfect water she'll do 41 mph on GPS which is flying for an old, heavy "tri hull." That 17 pitch prop also gives her a decent hole shot but she's got a lot of bow rise. It's an excellent boat for tubing. At low speeds and not up on plane, she plows water making the wake of a 25-30 footer. But, being that it's mostly used for fishing the stability wins me over every time. When it gets choppy and I see all the V-hulls rocking around while I'm barely even rocking with the waves I never regret buying and slowly restoring my old girl. She is a hull slapper though and sometimes whoever is in the bow gets a little wet but not as bad as on a traditional tri hull.