Beautiful Stockholm Archipelago by trimaran

Living in the Stockholm Archipelago we sometimes take it for granted, however every now and then we get a reminder that it is something extra ordinary like this beautiful report by Hervé Hillard when he and his friends explored the Archipelago in a Seaon.

Please enjoy (the marvellous pictures for those of us who do not read French and yes, we are looking for assistance to translate it into English…) the article (link) published in Voile & Voiliers:

Text by Hervé Hillard
Pictures by Jean-Louis Gury
Map by Francois Chevalier
Voiles & Voiliers n445, March 2008




We can only agree to this beautiful report and add - "It should be experienced it IRL - in a trimaran.....!"

/Jan et all waiting for the spring in Stockholm (now having had snow for three days)

Trimaran tests

In the last issue of “MULTIHULLS WORLD/MULTICOQUES MAGAZINE” there is a test of both the Seaon (this time the article also in English! (English PDF version ) , article in French (French PDF version )) and the Seacart.

Obviously such tests are valuable both for customers and ourselves. Amongst others it also gives us an opportunity to highlight a few issues listed in the article which may not be obvious for everyone.

Philippe Echelle, the author of the article, highlighted amongst other the “lip at the deck/hull joint” (we call it “flange”. There are few ways to handle the joint of deck hull. Weighing the alternatives we finally choose the solution for two reasons:

When docked the flange protects the float from chafing against the dock. Also it is quite a strong point should one attempt a “hard” docking manoeuvre. To repair the paint (if not choosing a rubber protection like one customer has) on the edge of the flange is a simple operation, rather than having to repaint a larger area on the float. On the main hull the flange is used as a strong point for attaching the nets.

Furthermore, at high speeds the flange protects the water flow from each side of the float to join on the top of the float which under certain conditions will create a downward acting force.

Philippe also highlighted “The absence of waterstays(martingales on the arms)…”. This is probably not as unusual as it may seem, comparing the aviation industry moving away from wing stays quite some time ago. It is probably worth a separate comment (and potentially other issues) well which I will address in a future blog entry.

Finally, our company history is probably not the usual “start a company” story (if there ever is a “usual”!). The team behind Seaon has sailed together for over 20 years (and known each other for more than that!) and Stefan having optimized all the keels and rudders of the team’s racing yachts. Even though input, wishes and requirements for the design (Jan being very fond of the curves and lines of ………(anybody figured out?)) came from the whole team, Stefan is the designer in the team.

/Jan

Let the show begin! Trimarans at the Copenhagen Boatshow

Having fulfilled the usual "pre-exhibition stress" (this time maybe a little more than expected), the stand finally was ready for the "grand opening" hosted by Brian's and Alan's new started operation "Multihull" in Denmark exhibiting a Seaon 96crb and a Corsair 31.




And the show began!

Exhibition opened 10.00, at 10.30 there was a line up. It seems the Multihull interest in Denmark is big.



/Jan

Seaon 96crb on Copenhagen International Boat Show 2008, February 23rd to March 2nd

A Seaon 96crb will be exhibited on the Copenhagen International Boats Show 2008 ( http://www.baadeibella.dk/English/Visitors/), February 23rd to March 2nd in co-operation with our Danish distributor “Multihull” (http://www.mulithull.info/)

For further info please contact Multihull (for Danish visitors) or Seaon AB (for international visitors).


/Jan

Archipelago of Minquiers (Bretagne) by trimaran

There is quite a lot of Seaon in the press. Attached (link) you find an article (unfortunately only available in French) in “Voile Magazine” where our very active Seaon 96crb sailors Bernard and Michelle together with Voile Mag's Bernard Rubinstein explored the Archipelago of Minquiers off the coast of Bretagne.

Coming up is also an article where Philippe Echelle from “Multihulls World” test sailed the Seaon 96crb. After that (March) there will be an article in Voiles et Voiliers (French again! They are active sailors indeed!) by Herve Hillard who explored the Stockholm Archipelago in a Seaon....and then there will be an article on Seaon production by Henrik Hansen from “Bådnyt” in Denmark.

So watch the newsstands!

Below a photo on Bernard’s friends coming along when he goes sailing…..



/Jan

Testing, testing and testing – Trimaran dagger board

Challenging productivity and weight further, we now build our hollow dagger boards in one piece which takes a few tricks …and (hard) experiences. One of the tricks is to decide how to test – what kind of test jig, test procedures, test loads, what to look for etc.
In our test procedures we quite frequently use a load cell, in this case testing a load of two tons. Clearing the design load however is not enough, at the same time we need to check for amongst others leakages that only show under severe load, which is another challenge. And yes – we found some in the first tests which forced us to go back and rethink laminate cuts, vacuum bags placing etc. Step by step potential problems are removed. The conclusion? Testing, though time consuming, is very rewarding not only from the point of view of saving our customers (cannot be a strong enough expression!) as much as it possible from surprises, but in many instances it also reveals critical variations in the production process which then can be stabilized and this in itself is productivity rewarding.

/Jan

Key Seaon (trimaran) parameter: WPSA - and Seaonal Greetings!

Every now and then our “weight paranoia” is brought up again. Obviously we have some regular internal “Hansei” (reflection) on our eternal weight chasing…..and the result is the same every time: Yes it is worth it!

We are not solely in the trimaran performance business – we are in “the sailing is a fantastic experience” business, easy to handle for all …..sailors for now. However everyone in this business has an obligation to mission sailing as a “Climate Smart Leisure Activity”, something I strongly believe we will hear more about going forward.

So, what ‘s the issue with the weight? Before stating our view again, let me first say there is “no one model fit all” solution. Every company has its belief and target believers for their products, so there is no reason to debate who is wrong and who is right.

Our belief: The balance between performance and a boat easy enough to handle. Obviously you could think maximum performance would be our main belief since the Seaon 96crb is fully built in carbon – but it is not. We could have added another 1-2 meters of mast length, thus increased the power of the boat even further. Designing the Seaon 96crb the target was however the opposite – how can we decrease the sail area to make the boat as easy as possible to handle, but still maintaining sailing characteristics enough to also attract the hard to please sailor (which includes ourselves!) or potentially some one that likes the sea but thinks sailing is a dull experience? The answer: focus on weight.

For us WPSA (Weight per Sail Area) is one of the key parameters to evaluate the “sailing experience”. However as stated before – adding sail area to maintain the ratio is not our preferred way to go, since you could very quickly get into heavy and potentially dangerous sail handling issues.

“WPSA:s lines” for a few trimaran models (weights taken from LYS rating certificates in Sweden and sail area from standard boat configuration sheets) would look like the following:



Making a “Pareto” analysis on the WPSA parameter (i.e. not comparing other parameters such like water line length, wet surfaces etc) one could e.g. compare how much additional sail area a certain model A at the given weight would need to achieve the same WPSA line as model B.


At this time I would also like to take the opportunity to send the very best Seaonal Greetings to all of you from all of us at Seaon.

We all hope Santa Clause will be nice to you (usually written as “From Me to Myself” on the package….) bringing something new “absolutely must have" for the boat ……as long as it is light weight!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Sailing Experience Year!

/Jan et all

“Power reflections” from METS from a multihull perspective

Being out of the office for almost two weeks due to extensive travelling, we are now catching up with all the todo’s. One of the reasons being on the road was visiting METS in Amsterdam, the biggest marine equipment trade show in Europe. As always there is a lot to see and discuss. During the past years the electronics portion of the fair has increased considerably, now also seeing some gain into switches and the wiring itself. Not to mention LED:s in all shapes and colours. Finally we get some useful warm white LED:s as opposed to the older not so cosy cold white ones. Now you can even get “champagne” white….

Power on a multihull is obviously a major issue, considering the battery weight (and of course cabling) as part of our continuous weight chasing mission. Even though our sailors are battery power conscious, the increased use (need…!) of electronics spells some careful planning of the installation and consumption. Except for the Radio/CD/MP3 player (what would one do without it in speeds over 15 knots!!), VHF and instruments, the GPS plotter, AIS transponder and auto pilot seems to become more standard than exception. Not to mention the need of charging all the crews mobile phones, cameras and even PC.


Our LED navigation lights from Lopolight

Except for the navigation (LED standard) and interior lights (LED option), solar cell installations (cabin top solar cell option, however regulator and socket for a second not fixed cell) we need to work even harder on the power equation, especially since most of us really prefer sailing as opposed to motoring (and charging with the alternator) in almost all conditions.

One of the solutions, however due to price still limited as an option, could obviously be the use of fuel cells where 13 kg (8 kg for aggregate and 5 kg for 5 litres of Methanol) could give as much as 400 Amps. More efficient and lighter solar cells obviously will also improve the power equation. We hope to see more “within reach” at next years METS.

Considering the need for careful power consumption I guess that multihull sailors are climate smart in more than one aspect.


/Jan

More yellow trimarans….

No, it’s not the same!


It’s Flexodus!

Peter’s "Flexodus" was test launched this week. It looks very similar to Bernard’s "Eureka", but if you look closely it is not exactly the same. However yellow seems to be the very popular trimaran colour. Since we are in the end of the season, we eagerly have to wait until next season for more Flexodus sailing reports from Denmark.





/Jan

Trimaran Big Catch?

In our pursuit of “Muda” weight (Muda = waste, a key term in the Toyota Way) every small kilo (or actually fraction of kilo) counts. As Stefan says: “You cannot reduce weight by addressing one single area only". Consistent weight chasing and maintenance in all areas of the boat is needed. All major parts are measured and potential deviation is analysed ……and then we have to add filler (of course as little as possible), primer and finally paint, glue and fittings....to be measured on weight again.
On the picture you see Mr Frolow, our team leader for filling, fairing and painting with what looks like a big catch - but it is actually not so big, from a weight point of view at least. It is the horizontal bulkhead in the forward part of the float with a weight of 3,2 kilo. Muda hunting in all areas continues…

/Witek