The Buccaneer 24 Trimaran
Originally posted 2010 but updated 2021
The plans for this great little all-ply boat are/were still advertised here for about $150, and include full size templates for frames (Go to this Forum for more info and track down 'OldSailor7' to inquire about these plans.). The boat demounts of course, and the aka tubes simply act as struts with virtually a ball joint at the main hull sleeve. The attachment of the akas to the amas with saddles and straps is a little crude but it works, all helping to get the boat built in relatively low manhours. Rigging wise, the mast actually holds the amas up but as long as nothing breaks, it works ok and is light! The already 'rather loose' system would make fitting and using a rotating wingmast pretty tricky though.
NOTE: Latest contact I have for Plans for most Buccaneer trimarans is here (2018): admin@ezifoldyachts.com
There were originally three models of the Buccaneer. The B24, B28 and B32/33, if I remember well. A B24 in New Zealand (named Miranda—formerly Gulf Chariot), was extended in the stern to 28' to remove the excessive stern rocker that only worked well in light weather. They also removed the main hull daggerboard and added asymmetric foils in the floats (angled at approximately 25 degrees) and fitted a new, underhung and balanced rudder, rotating mast and 7⁄8 rig. This made the boat much quicker than the original, even though it was too light** to ever be slow (it could be even faster with a slightly taller flat-head rig). It should be noted that using two ama boards instead of a central one may not suit everyone. This will often mean getting wet to handle them on a very lively boat and if sailing in shallow or rough water, could be potentially dangerous. I'd then consider a center or quadrant board that would pop-up more easily. (I went through the same design trade-off exercise for my W22 and finally choose a quadrant board)
** one thing that kept these boats very light was their lack of epoxy sheathing. The lightest one I saw was the one shown in the above photo. At 28 years old she was still light and dry and the interior of the boat was only protected with a wood preservative like Cuprinol ..., not with epoxy. Keeping a plywood boat dry and aired out is the REAL secret for a long life, but without sheathing you will need to nurse her a little more.
After owning two, I can say the B24 was amazingly nimble in very light airs, as it could be sailed only on the center hull, and in mixed racing in light conditions, she would often keep up with 40' racing monohulls !. However, the high dihedral that permitted that, also made the boat very tippy at mooring and permitted more heel than normal on todays modern boats. However, its that relatively high heel that allows wind to escape off the top as it does on monohulls, reducing the capsize moment and perhaps one of the main reasons this 24ft boat has no public record of capsizing to my knowledge. There's always a design trade-off or compromises to be made ;) Having sailed them quite a lot, together with their easy 'flip-flop' side to side at anchor or mooring, I'd say they do feel rather nervous and skittish with their light weight and higher heel angles than normal, but are still sporty and fun. But graduating to Magic Hempel (a D25R) a few years later was like going from a Lotus 7 to an Audi Quattro, offering more performance with a lot less stress. It's no wonder that I later used Magic Hempel as my guide and benchmark for my smaller W22 design.
For those who like traditional ply on frame construction (see #1 Method), the B24 is no doubt one of the best of the older designs still out there, with the boats by Norman Cross and the demountable Crowther Kraken designs being options from the same time period. I would however, recommend to modify the stern lines of the main B24 hull as was done on Miranda, as this can help the top end considerably. Otherwise, just follow the plans and keep it light. I've seen some that were overbuilt with too much epoxy etc., with added stiffeners, thicker ply and heavy sheathing, and they never did sail as well. Lock Crowther (aeronautical engineer) knew what he was doing! His son still runs a design business, but is into much bigger things. Lock's other early Kraken designs were also well ahead of their time, with higher overall beam that normal for the 70's and his hulls were long and slim with minimum rocker, far more like today's fast boats than those from his era. Hats off to Mr Crowther!
"Designer Mike Waters previously owned two of these Buccaneer 24s in the 80s. His new, more up-to-date, higher performance (relative to length) W17 trimaran, was certainly influenced by the experience. See here for more info on the W17 and also Construction Tips for help in building one." —webmaster
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