DRAGONFLY Trimarans User Forum

My DF800SW is moored folded in a regular marina. The boat is lying with the bow to the dock and mooring lines to aft poles. The prevailing winds are across the mooring and in high winds the boat heels so much that my mast hits the mast of the boat lying next to mine. Obviously neither my neighbour nor I are very happy about this.

It's not a regular situation, but has happened at least twice over the last 18 months.

I have tried to heel the mast in the opposite direction, moving the traveller car to the extreme end of the traveller, and lowering the boom to reduce windage and center of gravity, but it appears to be insufficient. Tying a halyard to a fixed point on land is not possible.

Does anybody have any advice on how to improve on the situation?

I know you don't want to hear this, but unless you can limit heel by tying off halyards you will need to find another mooring situation. Perhaps you could go stern-to the dock and tie off at the posts? ... or tie spinnaker halyard to the dock on one side and main halyard to the post on the other?

Folded trimarans (from any maker) are not stable in high cross-winds or large waves. If your boat is folded and heels too much in a storm, it could blow over. If they are kept open you will have full stability.

You should look for a double-wide slip or out-water mooring where your boat can be kept open all the time.

Do you have spring lines attached to the center of the hull?

tpaliwoda wrote:Do you have spring lines attached to the center of the hull?

No.

As I understand spring lines, they are used to limit forward and backwards movement, typically alongside a dock or another boat.

How would adding spring lines limit the issue of heeling?

I am on a mooring and the only time the boat ever gets to a dock is when we launch and take the boat out of the water once a year.
I would think that the spring lines would also limit the amount of roll you would have. As where if you were just tied off on the bow and stern cleats the boat would have a tendency to roll more.
Just a thought.
Keep us posted.
Ted

Double Horizon wrote:I know you don't want to hear this, but unless you can limit heel by tying off halyards you will need to find another mooring situation. Perhaps you could go stern-to the dock and tie off at the posts? ... or tie spinnaker halyard to the dock on one side and main halyard to the post on the other?

Folded trimarans (from any maker) are not stable in high cross-winds or large waves. If your boat is folded and heels too much in a storm, it could blow over. If they are kept open you will have full stability.

You should look for a double-wide slip or out-water mooring where your boat can be kept open all the time.

One thought to add to my prior post: If you can get a slip wide enough to leave even one side open -- it will provide enough stability except perhaps in the most extreme hurricane-force winds blowing toward the folded side. (Essentially you'd have the stability of a proa).

Hi

If your mooring alows try not fully folding your 800 so that you have as much bean as possible when folded, I have drilled new holes for the saftey bar pin to hold my 920 out by abour 30cms to help in high winds

Maybe put a water tank in the windward ama to give it some opposing pre-heel? I know it would be a pain to do every time, but if the conditions are somewhat predictable you could do it when necessary. A hose to fill it, and a pump to empty it overboard.

The only other thing I can think of is to stretch a heavy bungy (elastic) between the fore and aft attachments on land, and then clip a halyard to it. Should help a little.....