Cavalier Trimaran
Description
The Cavalier trimaran is a classic plywood/ply-glass multihull cruising sailboat associated with designer Hedley Nicol, developed during the era when Nicol’s range of trimarans — including Vagabond, Wanderer, Cavalier and larger designs — were built by custom builders and amateur boatbuilders rather than as a factory-produced model. These boats were typically constructed of marine plywood laminated with fiberglass and epoxy for strength and durability and intended as comfortable, capable cruising trimarans with good load capacity, sensible accommodations, and robust structure; definitive production counts aren’t recorded, but numerous examples (including Cavalier Mk II variants around ~37–39 ft) have been built and remain in use in Australia, North America and beyond. The design often features a single mast sloop rig, roomy cockpit and cabin, and shallow draft suitable for coastal cruising.
Construction Details
| Designer | Hedley Nicol |
|---|---|
| Builder | Home Built |
| Length | 37.500 ft |
| LOA | 37.500 ft |
| LWL | 36.000 ft |
| Beam | 24.000 ft |
| Max Draft | 4.000 ft |
| Year Built | 1965 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 41.83 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 13.83 ft |
| p | 34 ft |
| e | 15.83 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41.83 ft | 13.83 ft | 34 ft | 15.83 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Cavalier Trimaran - MAINSAIL
| Luff | 34 ft - (10363 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 16 ft - (4877 mm) |
| Leech | * 36.78 ft - (11211 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 37.07 ft - (11299 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 6 in - (152 mm) |
| Area | * 279.36 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
Cavalier Trimaran - GENOA
| Luff | 39 ft - (11887 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 18.83 ft - (5739 mm) |
| Leech | 35.33 ft - (10769 mm) |
| Percentage LP | 135 % |
| Length Perpendicular | 17.5 ft - (5334 mm) |
| Area | * 332 ft² |
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Cavalier Trimaran - GENOA
| Luff | 28.5 ft - (8687 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 19.5 ft - (5944 mm) |
| Leech | 28.5 ft - (8687 mm) |
| Length Perpendicular | 18.33 ft - (5587 mm) |
| Area | * 261.11 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.
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