Tag Archives: Catamaran

G-32 catamaran G-WIZ!

G-Wiz!

Russell Brown’s New Toy

By Russell Brown — Port Townsend Watercraft

G-32 catamaran on the cover of Epoxyworks 46, Spring 2018

Russell Brown’s G-32 catamaran on the cover of Epoxyworks 46, Spring 2018

The work of the Gougeon brothers has been like a guiding light to me starting when I was a young teenager. It wasn’t just the methods and skills they developed that inspired me (and led to my career in boatbuilding), it was the “outside the box” thinking about boat design they employed. While Meade Gougeon led the effort to develop and teach epoxy skills and building methods, it was his brother Jan who had the courage to design, build, develop, and race boats that were very unusual and often counter-intuitive, yet very successful. Jan’s G-32 catamaran is an example of his genius. Continue reading →

Stray Cat Strut

Restoring a Gougeon Tornado Catamaran

By Andy Davidson

I have just about finished restoring a Gougeon Tornado catamaran. I’ve always had and loved catamarans, and this one had been sitting out in the sun at the Oklahoma City Boat Club for years. Bob, a fellow club member, offered some parts. His plans were to “chainsaw the hulls tomorrow” and put the pieces in the club Dumpster. That was the push I needed. In a moment of insanity, I told him there was no way I could let him do that. Continue reading →

James Wharram Designs

by Captain James R. Watson—GBI Technical Advisor

For many decades Gougeon Brothers Inc. has kept in contact with multihull designer James Wharram. Wharram, of Cornwall, UK, has sailed and designed Polynesian-style catamarans for 50 years. Amateurs and professionals have built his boats and sailed them to all corners of the planet. The designs he creates with his engineer and artist partner Hanneke Boon have evolved over the years, but remain unmistakably, Wharram Catamarans. Continue reading →

The Gougmarans

Birth of the Gougmarans

by Meade Gougeon — GBI Founder

Above: Meade and Jan’s completed Gougmarans, shallow-draft power catamarans on Dick Newick-designed hulls.

Epoxyworks 25

Cover Photo: Brothers Meade & Jan Gougeon aboard their power catamarans with Dick Newick-designed hulls — GOUGMARAN and MAGIC CARPET.

In 2003, my brother Jan and I began talking about building a motorboat. This would be a first for the brothers, who up to this point have focused all our efforts on sailboats. Just a few years ago, it would have been inconceivable that we would ever take up powerboating. But time and circumstances change one’s views, especially as we enter our senior years. We have always regretted that major parts of our home waters, the Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron, Michigan, have been too shallow for our sailboats. Some of the most attractive parts of the Bay with the best wildlife have been off-limits to boats that draw more than 18 inches. Continue reading →

Figure 1—A completed L-7 at the dock. Multi Marine’s new 23' folding trimaran kit features manufactured hull pans. The builder attaches plywood topsides to the pans.

Developing Multihulls

A folding trimaran for DIY boat builders

by Michael Leneman, Multi Marine

Above: A completed L-37 multihull at the dock. Multi-Marine’s new 23′ folding trimaran kit features manufactured hull pans. The builder attaches plywood topsides to the pans.

What is the simplest way for a home builder to build a good, light hull for a catamaran or trimaran? A few years ago, we set about looking for an inexpensive way to construct a small trimaran that we had developed as a prototype. The answer we came up with was unique: to combine a fiberglass molded “pan” with plywood/glass/epoxy topsides. Continue reading →

vintage speed boat

Readers’ Projects, Issue 17

Vintage Speedboat

Paul Schreiter of Appleton, Wisconsin found the plans for this vintage speedboat in an old library book. The design is a 1936 inboard racer but powered by a 120 hp Mercruiser. Paul says, “I will go as fast as you want.” Continue reading →

Repairing a Hobie 16

by Brian Knight—GBI Technical Advisor

My son was sailing his older model Hobie 16 when the aft trampoline post suddenly gave way. The support structure holding the post in place failed, allowing the deck to deflect downwards and also punching a hole in the hull. Paul used WEST SYSTEM Epoxy and the following techniques to repair the damage. Continue reading →

fairing a beach cat's bottom

Fairing a Fiberglass Beach Cat’s Bottom

by Captain James R. Watson

Dragging your catamaran over sandy beaches can abrade away material on the bottom of the hull, thereby flattening the sectional shape. Usually this area will extend 4 or 5 feet each way of the hull’s mid-section. You need to fix it so it doesn’t wear through, and to maintain optimum design performance. Continue reading →

New Beach Cat (Part II)

Final Details

by Captain James R. Watson

(In Epoxyworks #5 I wrote New Beach Cat (Part I)—The Hull Story about constructing the hulls of my new beach cat.)

There is a little aftershock related to this event, with all the anticipation and abstracting of what she’ll finally be like—now we find out. One finds it is also time to evaluate whether or not this project fulfills the criteria that drove its initiation. Continue reading →