Construction of a Lively 28 trimaran – Follow the plans

One of my clients bought boat building plans for the “Lively 28” trimaran. He is a novice boat builder, but he is going to work with a friend who has experience building wooden boats. He asked me if he had any thoughts on possibly “revising” the ship plans a bit during the build process.

I honestly don’t know much about the Lively 28 trimaran. I’ve seen photos of this sailboat on the web. It certainly looks like good craftsmanship. But since other novice boat builders would love to build their own small trimaran, you might want to consider the following:

— Make sure you have plans for the ship you “really” want…don’t choose to build a certain ship model simply because plans are cheap. The Lively 28 trimaran is not easily “towable”. That’s not to say it’s not a good boat. My focus is on boats that are EASILY trailerable…those that can be easily stored at home and then towed to a boating location whenever you feel the urge to get out on the water.

The Lively 28 CAN be towed, according to its info pages. But it would take a bit of work to assemble and disassemble this ship. She is really a boat that is meant to stay on the water, moored, for the entire sailing season. If that is what my client is looking for then this may be a great boat for him.

— The construction plans for this boat MAY not be as detailed as other trimaran plans. I don’t know, of course, because I haven’t seen the plans. But I’m a guy who likes to have every detail explained to him…and that’s something that’s missing from many lower-priced plans. If the builder is okay with this, then the build may not be as challenging for them as it would be for me, especially if the ship plans aren’t peppered with detail.

— It’s nice to have someone with boat building experience to work with who can help. That’s GREAT… a great asset. This person should know all about working with epoxy, which can make you sick if not handled properly. Take precautions with those things. It is an excellent construction material, but follow the safety instructions.

— Beware of “adaptation” plans. If adapt means “change”, then it should generally be avoided… especially by a novice builder. My book, “Small Trimarans: An Introduction,” contains an interview with the founder of Duckworks boatbuilding magazine because he discusses the importance of always following the plans of a renowned designer. He stressed that there are reasons why designers make their boats a certain way.

Trimaran boat construction plans must be closely followed. Build a boat exactly as the designer specified (especially if you’re a novice) or you could end up with a boat that isn’t safe or just doesn’t work right. And it would be a shame to spend so much time and money on the trimaran of your dreams, and yet things don’t turn out great, simply because you didn’t follow the designer’s plans as specified.