Warren Light Craft - Little Wing15.5 Sail Designer's Statement

Little Wing 15.5 Sail Designer's Statement

Any good sailboat design starts with a set of goals. For the Little Wing 15.5 Sail the object was to create a sailboat that reflects the best of the art of sailing in a personal craft. For a boat to realistically be a ‘personal’ boat is has to be light and easily rigged. My estimate is that for boats weighing over 100 lbs you need at least a trailer and usually a crew to load, unload and rig the boat. For a personal sailboat to be a serious trimaran it has to have a long slender main hull. Wide hulls are inefficient and detract from the experience of sailing in a trimaran.

The Little Wing 15.5 Sail is based on the Little Wing 15.5 kayak. This model was selected because it has a long enough waterline for a personal sailboat and because the hull is slender in the water. We like to talk about the fineness ratio of a hull, which is the waterline length divided by the waterline width. The Little Wing 15.5 kayak has a 10:1 fineness ration, which gets it into the trimaran performance range. It also weighs a scant 28 lbs. The amas (outer hulls) have a fineness ratio of 20:1 and they are the hulls that will support a large part of the displacement at speed. This number is up in the super performance range. The amas are placed forward of the main hull to generate diagonal stability when sailing at speed.

Choice of a sailplan reflects the designer’s goal. I chose a Marconi rig. It consists of a fully battened mainsail with an aggressive roach. The sail is made by Doyle Sailmakers and when trimmed properly it produces an awesome foil shape. The long traveler on the mainsheet allows the sail to be properly trimmed at any wind heading. The roller-furled jib adds a significant amount of power and gives a good ride downwind. This type of sailplan has proven itself from America's Cup racing to offshore ORMA 60 trimarans. It also helps with the goal of making this a safe sailing experience. With this rig I was able to keep the center of effort of the sailplan at a scant 6 feet above the water. This along with the large stability from the outriggers prevents the boat from capsizing unless sailing in very high winds. The main sail also has one reef point for sailing in high winds and if necessary the boat can be sailed with only the jib.

With an easily launched personal sailboat you will not only get on the water more often during the sailing season but have the opportunity to significantly extend the sailing season. In our location is Salem MA the sailing season is June through September, four months. With Little Wing 15.5 Sail the season begins in mid March and ends in mid November a total of 8 months. Towards that goal, the Little Wing 15.5 Sail is a sit-in kayak. With a spray skirt in place and a modern kayaking dry suit you are comfortable, dry, warm and safe for March, April and November sailing.

Ted Warren - Little Wing 15.5 Sail Designer