History
The first trimarans were built by indigenous Polynesians and other Pacific islanders almost 4,000 years ago, and much of the current terminology is inherited from them. The origin of the word comes from the numerical prefix for three, "tri" and the Tamil word for tree or wood, "maram". Multihull sailboats (catamarans and trimarans) gained favor during the 1960s and 1970s. Modern recreational trimarans are rooted in the same homebuilt tradition as other multihulls but there are also a number of production models on the market. A number of trimarans in the 19–36-foot lengths (5.8–11 m) have been designed over the last 30 years to be accommodated on a road trailer. These include the original Farrier - Corsair folding trimarans - and original John Westell swing-wing folding trimaran (using the same folding system later adopted also on Quorning Dragonfly) and like trimarans. Many sailboat designers have also designed demountable trimarans that are able to be trailered (like the SeaCart 30 by Oceanlake Marine ).
The trimaran design is also becoming more widespread as a passenger ferry. In 2005 the 127-metre trimaran (417 ft) Benchijigua Express was delivered by Austal to Spanish ferry operator Fred.Olsen, S.A. for service in the Canary Islands. Capable of carrying 1,280 passengers and 340 cars, or equivalents, at speeds up to 40 knots, this boat was the longest aluminum ship in the world at the time of delivery. The trimaran concept has also been considered for modern warships. The RV Triton was commissioned by British defence contractor QinetiQ in 2000. In October 2005, the United States Navy commissioned for evaluation the construction of a General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) trimaran designed and built by Austal. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is experimenting with the trimaran design and on August 15, 2012 awarded Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) a $58,485,318 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-plus-incentive-fee contract to perform Phases 2 through 4 of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) Program. Work under the contract is expected to be completed by Aug. 15, 2015.
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