Tricat 6.90 - Can it really provide fun, fast, trailable AND affordable sailing?

A trimaran that is easy to manage, spacious enough for a small family, yet light enough to sail fast and to trailer, all for an 'affordable' price (under €60k) sounds like a lot of boxes to tick. Toby Hodges steps aboard the Tricat 6.90
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[@BadYossa]

Canny wee thing. Always good to see more affordable and interesting vessel. Cheers Toby👍

[@ppapdddar6159]

I have to say... I really like this boat.

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

Tres bon. Merci Antione et Toby.

[@robinhodgkinson]

That’s a great motivational video for me thanks Toby. I’m currently building a Scarab 650 in pvc composite - main hull nearly ready to spray paint . A 6.5m trailerable tri with folding (not swinging) arms that tucks the floats under the main chine. Enough YT. Time to go get dusty!

[@yachtingworld]

Good stuff and best of luck with it Robin!

[@Seafariireland]

Love it, happy sailing!

[@japatechBR]

So insterting project ! Tks Top drops

[@stefanseyfried8201]

Good to see a test of an affordable boat - however, I don’t agree with the verdict, sorry. Here is why: I sail a Dragonfly 28 on the Norwegian west coast. With my wife and daughter it is just about spacious enough for a few days of cruising in a cool climate; it requires coordination of who is where in the cabin, and a cockpit tent to enlarge the dry living space. This TriCat is likely a fun boat, but below deck, it’s surely not a “family cruising solution”, and on deck it will be crowded with more than 3. (From experience: The trampolines are not a great place on the move.) Maybe a day sailor? If you push it, a weekender for a young couple with low inhibitions regarding privacy on the loo, and who like basic camping. Maybe a bit more relaxed in a warm climate … Value for money? - Hard to tell not having toughed it.

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

Dragonfly 28 is a great boat... at 4x the price.

[@loicleglas9568]

Cool to try some small boats as this one!

[@z_actual]

thanks Toby

[@thomaselliott573]

Great idea. I guess it is inexpensive by today's standards, but still a pity that a basic boat costs 64,000.

[@SpatialGuy77]

Agreed - that’s not exactly a budget boat considering what 64K can buy… though other options wouldn’t be trailerable.🤷🏻‍♂️

[@alloomis1635]

you can build similar for much less.

[@Ladybirdsin16mm]

Try a 2nd hand farrier or corsair

[@HondoTrailside]

I built my 24' trimaran for 3500 dollars in the late 80s, so 8000 today, and I still think you could do it for that today. Back then epoxy was 100 dollars a gallon, today it is 60. wood has not shifted in price for plywood. It has quite a bit for good quality primary wood. You can get plans for less today (and folding mechanisms were patented, so you just got demountable boats back then. Tools are maybe half price if you get Chinese or second hand ones (no craigslist back then). I built my trailer out of steel and wood, and that is still legal today. And today a welder is about 1/10th the price. And parts can come from harbor freight.

[@Ladybirdsin16mm]

@@HondoTrailside Wow very interesting. I guess you could use foam core rather than ply, to make it really light one

[@dubab.249]

My opinion is that the stern beam should be placed a meter forward, so that when the side floats are folded, the boat remains as long as it is in the declaration. The marina will charge you extra for that meter behind the stern. everything else is beautiful, functional.

[@teop7887]

A poor man's Dragonfly Trimaran. Brilliant!

[@Johnonayacht]

Love it! Toby if you were looking at a fast cruising tri what would it be? I dislike the Neels for various reasons.

[@ghifarakbar8492]

how about rapido or dragonfly?

[@wernerdanler2742]

Nice! Looks like it would be fun to sail. Not for heavy seas though.

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

A boat this small is meant for bays and coastal waters, not ocean crossings.

[@atakd]

It's 40cm longer than a mini transat which race across the Atlantic every year.

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

@@atakd Yes. but the floats on this particular design are too low for ocean crossings. The windward float would get buried in waves over a meter tall.

[@joethorn.2036]

As one whom live in ontario Canada we have a ton of sailable lakes you’ll need a trailer to get to. I’ve always wanted a tes 32 dreamer. Have you ever reviewed one of those? Do they still make them?

[@thereligionofrationality8257]

I want to solo it across the Atlantic.

[@georgemorris9971]

How many yacht tests have I read or watched which took place in little or no wind? Meaningless. As the owner of both a 4,4m trimaran and a 6.7m cruiser I was interested in this. But you can guess what I wanted to know - how stable is it, how much spray does it throw around, How stable is it with the amas folded ( a Dragonfly under bare poles capsized while on a marina berth in Lossiemouth during the recent gales). Is there enough buoyancy in the front of the amas to prevent them digging in? And so on.

[@stefanseyfried8201]

Do you have more info on the capsized DF (size, and wind speed) Have DF28 myself, so would be great to understand more about the incident. Thanks.

[@Jackalantern32668]

The word affordable is very subjective

[@guylocation9823]

Its so easy to fold .. Took 4 cuts in the video.😂 Inside everything looked so cheap and the price is funny also.

[@hwntwww]

Too narrow- why not use the mini 6.50 as the center hull, nice wide scow bow. The boat looks rather cheap otherwise, €30k perhaps

[@KSAMarc]

Why does simplicity seem to come at high price these days? Great to see tests on smaller boats but if you want simple rewarding sailing for around 1/10th price you could have say a Sonata or any number of similar sized classic good sailing plastic. None will be as fast granted but more affordable by many folk's yardstick.

[@epistte]

6.9 meters=22 foot boat?

[@karlp2560]

could you circumnavigate on this little gem?

[@vasiache]

And where is the toilet on this tri?

[@andreachinaglia5804]

min 4:38

[@roygumpel8415]

affordable??! Not to most people it sure isn't. 64,000.

[@yarpenzigrin1893]

You must really want to have a trimaran to spend over $60k on this tiny boat. It's just a monohull with two extra floats. A monohull of that size without the floats is half the price.

[@bastianrubion6429]

I can understand your opinion, but this price is not just a monohull with 2 floats! Having tried it, I was impressed by the speed even with very little wind! In addition, the price is quickly amortized because there is no need to pay for a place in the port! You can put it on a trailer, put it in the water in the morning and return with it in the evening! it is very easy to master! speed + ease + fun = Tricat

[@yarpenzigrin1893]

@@bastianrubion6429 Yeah, I'd still go for a monohull of this size. It's just as inexpensive to maintain, easier to trailer and costs half as much. Probably has more room inside, too. If it was priced better it would be a great alternative to a monohull but for the price it's just not worth the premium.

[@jaysparc]

If you'd ever sailed a small trimaran you would NOT be sayin any of the reductive crap you're spouting. I had a Weta trimaran for 3 years. While everyone else was standing still, I'd be doing 5-7 knots. Give it 8 knots of breeze and you're doing 9-10 upwind, 10+ off the wind. Her sweet spot was 12-15, where she would regularly be able to hit high teens. The fastest monohull stood still next to my boat. It was a 14' tri that costs around 20K, if you want a correlation between price and size, try my ex-wife.

[@nonormies2837]

Ya maté clearly you dont see the difference and its categorically different.

[@AORD72]

if you like sailing slow or motoring buy a monohull. I would buy a tri for the light wind sailing experience, going fast as the wind on flat water.

[@philcooper8678]

Ok for a solo sailor with a large pocket

[@lunes-1]

Is too expensive. I only would pay £25.000

[@stevenmellet5555]

I had to stop watching at 5:18, when I realized that "affordable" for a small boat in Europe is twice what I paid for my house.

[@oaktadopbok665]

Not for sailing the English Channel maybe.

[@HondoTrailside]

Why not, Rory sailed a 21 foot Wharram around the world. Key is to not get carried away with the sail plan. They are crazy large on recreational boats these days. Fun for play, but get a simpler rig if you are planing a voyage.

[@tylorpatton509]

Affordable?! Dude that’s $85000 AUD! Affordable would be anywhere from 20-35k max

[@TB12710]

Don’t stray too far from land on one of these!

[@Johnonayacht]

She looks better built them most of the big cats

[@willemhaifetz-chen1588]

Like a dinghy, yet nobody is physically touching the main.

[@userjarabecko]

52 000 affordable 😆😆😆😆😆

[@erikincph]

The price is ridiculous and .

[@Oriol-Boat]

an affordable boat??? 😳...maybe with a inner 18hp engine...

[@SpatialGuy77]

It’s not a “Tree Cat” it’s a “Try Cat” (phonetically) You don’t say “Tree-maran “, you say “Try-maran” Tri meaning 3… 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@SpatialGuy77]

@jarrahntommy Nope! The French say ‘Twa’, as in Twat - funny that. You don’t have to get defensive and rush to his aid, I really like his reviews. A lot! I was just having a dig about the pronunciation, it was driving me nuts. Chill 😉 Have a J ‘n T with lots of ice.

[@GoodkatNW]

In their French video, they pronounce it "tree cat" kzbin.info/www/bejne/npOYgKV6fLGhn9E

[@SpatialGuy77]

@jarrahntommy have another J&T and chill. (I prefer Bombay Sapphire) Try and let it go and get some sleep, lolol sorry, tree and let it go… lololol Let’s see if you can resist having the last word, lolol. It was just a bit of fun…

[@bertramlefarge69]

@@SpatialGuy77 So sad, starts off all bluster then ends up pretending it was just a bit of fun,. Reality is you were completely wrong and ended up looking like a fool . Next time try chilling and not typing unless you actually know what you're talking about. lolololol