Fitting out.

In this chapter, I will describe the fitting out and further equipment of Fram. It's an ongoing project. This chapter will be further updated as the work progresses.

Mainsheet traveler.

The original plan was to create a circular mainsheet traveler with a radius approximately equal to the length of the boom. When I was building the roof for the aft cabin, I replaced the foam at that location with hard foam. You can find the photos in the album related to the preparations for the deck laminate.

However, in the end, I found it to be too complicated, too much work, and too expensive, especially considering the minimal benefits. I didn't think it was worth it.

Afterward, the plan was to simplify everything drastically by implementing a so-called "Oceansheet." This is a sort of inverted V-shape with three-block tackles on each side of the cockpit. This is a solution that several multihull sailors use successfully. However, I do see some disadvantages when it comes to easy trimming.

For a long time, I assumed that I would go with this simpler option, accepting the drawbacks. However, the forces under such a block near the cockpit are quite substantial, and when I saw how the laminate under such a block on an F-36 trimaran was deforming, it became clear that additional reinforcements in that area were necessary. Work I hadn't initially anticipated.

In the end, it became a straight and more traditional traveler. For its base, I purchased 7 Red Cedar boards measuring 1.8x14x305 cm. There was enough material to build the traveler for the High Aspect Jib as well.

I drew the pyramid cross-section on a piece of paper, wider at the base and narrower at the top. As it goes further down, the base becomes wider than the width of the boards, but by clever cutting, I fill that in with what I cut away from the upper, narrower layers.

The track is from the Ronstan Series 30 with a standard length of 300 cm. I maintained that length so that a portion of the traveler extends beyond the roof of the aft cabin. Please click here or on the image to open an extensive photo report.

Jib boom traveler.

One of the great advantages of a trimaran is that it is more than an excellent sailboat concept, you could say it's a sailing machine. In order to fully exploit that as a short-handed crew or solo sailor, the systems must work perfectly and be easy to use. From the outset, I wanted, among other things, to have a self-tacking jib for this reason. Tacking frequently in narrow waters becomes child's play with it.

Ian Farrier has provided such an option, but he associates it with the need for a centerboard. A daggerboard, in his design, protrudes above the deck and in front of the mast. Right in the place where a self-tacking jib's traveler track is normally positioned. A centerboard does not extend above the deck and thus does not obstruct the traveler.

For me, the advantages of a centerboard do not outweigh the disadvantages. That's why I consciously chose a daggerboard. I solved the "problem" of the daggerboard protruding above the deck by placing the jib's traveler track in front of the daggerboard case. To ensure this doesn't compromise a smaller jib, I equipped it with a boom, a "jib boom," in other words. In fact, this makes the trim options for the jib the same as those for the mainsail.

Another option could have been to widen the space just in front of the mast step by making adjustments to the mast step and the head of the daggerboard. I didn't want to do that, especially since I want to experience the practical benefits of a jib boom.

The downside to the jib boom is that it does make the foredeck a cluttered and unsafe place to be, but I ensure that I don't need to be there and can trim everything from the cockpit. In addition, I ensure that the boom can be well controlled under all conditions with the jibsheet, topping lift and the traveler control lines.

I carried out the construction parallel to that of the mainsheet traveler, and the structure is the same, although lower and narrower. The Ronstan Series 30 track is 2 meters long. Please click here or on the image to open an extensive photo report.