The Reading Warehouse

Long typecast as the hotrods of the sea--fast but dangerous--modern cruising multihulls actually are among the safest and most comfortable cruising sailboats available. Modern multihulls offer significant advantages over single-hull sailboats: They sail faster, have more living space, they're more comfortable, more stable, they can sail safely in much shallower water, and, because their stability comes from widely spaced hulls and not from tons of lead hung off the keel, they don't sink. Given the ultimate disaster, which would you choose: A capsized yet habitable boat, floating awash, or a self-righting boat sitting at the bottom of the ocean? And multihulls are fast. A typical weekend cruiser's circle of operations might double if he switches to a multihull. A transatlantic voyage might be cut by a third. No less an organization than the U.S. Navy decided that applications requiring an extremely steady platform at sea were best suited to, of all things, a catamaran.

The Cruising Multihull supplies the reader with all the latest information about design, construction, rigs, seamanship, safety, and a point-by-point rebuttal of the accepted wisdom concerning multihull dangers. It will help you decide whether a multihull is right for you; which multihull--cat or tri--is best for your needs; whether you should build one yourself, have one built, or buy one off the rack. And, of course, The Cruising Multihull shows you how to get the most from your boat.

I don't know of a more thorough survey of modern cruising multihulls than this book. For strangers to these boats who want to know more about them, as well as for multihull sailors eager to learn from a capable, articulate designer and sailor with his own point of view, I enthusiastically recommend The Cruising Multihull.--John Rousmaniere

Finally, a multihull voice which does not proselytize. Instead, logic and information pack the pages of Chris White's . . . The Cruising Multihull.--WoodenBoat

As an avid 13-year-old sailor, Chris White became interested in multihulls after a day sail on a charter trimaran in St. Croix. Five years later, he built and launched the 31-foot Searunner trimaran Shadowfax, which became home and adventure vehicle for three years of cruising the East Coast, the Bahamas, the West Indies, and parts of South America.

Returning to the U.S. with firm ideas for designing serious cruising multihulls, White worked with multihull pioneer Jim Brown to develop Constant Camber boatbuilding, culminating in the construction of the 52-foot trimaran Juniper.

After two years of cruising Juniper from Maine to the West Indies with his wife, Kate, White devoted himself full-time to furthering development of cruising multihulls. He is an associate member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, has published numerous articles in boating magazines, and holds several patents for inventions pertaining to high-speed recreational sailboats.

When he can get away from his busy design business in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, Chris, Kate, and young sons Bill and Robert still sail Juniper at every opportunity. In WoodenBoat magazine, Jim Brown called White one of the " . . . few designers . . . offering extremely wholesome new cruising designs for the amateur. To me, such men appear to tiptoe down the tightrope of compromise between cruising and performance."