F-39 Construction

Ian Farrier repeatedly emphasised that the construction of an F-39 trimaran is certainly not intended for beginners. He explicitly warned that the purchase of the construction plans is meant only for experienced boatbuilders or professional yards.

That warning did not discourage me. Although I had very limited hands-on experience with composite construction—apart from building some thirty polyester canoes during my teenage years at technical school—I did have prior experience building boats in wood. In addition, over forty years of sailing and maintaining boats provided me with extensive practical knowledge of materials and construction-related issues.

The preliminary study for a project of this scale is, in many ways, the most enjoyable phase of the entire build. I consider it essential to put myself in the designer’s mindset and to understand why the boat is designed and built in a particular way. Acquiring material knowledge—how materials behave, how they are used, and where their limitations lie—is also a crucial part of this preparation. Gradually, understanding grows, making it possible to take well-considered decisions and make the right choices.

Eventually, moving from study to execution requires a certain amount of determination: turning preparation into action by placing an order for pallets of resin, fibreglass, foam, and other materials.

To ensure that the project would not exceed my capabilities—and to verify in practice whether the chosen building method and some self-developed techniques would work as intended—I initially ordered materials for the construction of only half a float hull. Had this test failed, the loss would have been limited to a manageable investment of time and materials.

The outcome was very different. The test hull proved to be a great success and gave me the confidence to continue. We marked this early milestone with a small celebration, in the spirit of a first keel-laying ceremony. It was a decisive moment: the commitment to continue building was made.

The following chapters describe a number of specific aspects of the construction of the F-39 trimaran.