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Telstar trimarans is a line of trimarans most recently built by the Performance Cruising Inc shipyard in Annapolis, Maryland. The line has been designed and built by Tony Smith, with the initial design created in early 1970s. Construction continued until 1981 with some minor modifications to the main design, and then stopped. A completely re-designed model, Telstar 28, has been re-launched in 2003 and in production until late 2009. Currently the production is on hold and it is not clear if it will resume. All models of the Telstar line has been designed as foldable trimarans suitable for both racing and cruising and focused around a few key design aspects: trailerability, ease of handling by a single person, safety, good cruising accommodations, and shallow draft. New Telstar models sport a folding mechanism allowing its outer hulls (amas or outriggers) to be retracted alongside the main hull, while still allowing the boat to be moved under the engine power. This permits the boat to use marina berths intended for monohulls and be trailered without a need for special permits. Another unique design point is the system for raising and lowering the mast without the need for any external equipment. This allows the boat to be taken in and out of a trailer in a matter of an hour. The Telstar trimarans have shallow draft and can be beached since both their centreboard and the rudder can be lifted. ==History== The Telstar line has been designed and built by Tony Smith; in 1969 Tony Smith was 25 years old and had built two trimarans and raced round Britain in a trimaran. Smith had developed a vast store of knowledge about trimarans and their behavior in varying sea states. As Tony describes, “I was ready to make the next quantum leap in design.” Up to that point, most trimarans had been built using flat sheets of plywood which had been the latest technology developed after the war. Fiberglass was only beginning to make its way into boat building. Tony’s design criteria for a 26’ trimaran included 4 person accommodation, standing head room, load carrying, maneuverability, good looks and speed. Of course, Smith was also out to create a more reliable design, as the early plywood trimarans had a terrible reputation for falling apart. Using fiberglass technology, Smith could now make a round hull that had the least wetted surface - making for a faster boat. Throughout this early phase of design, Smith was living with his parents; he pinned up designs all over the house showing different drawings of Telstar. “I believed that if it looked right it probably was,” says Smith of his early designs. Smith built the prototype Telstar in his parent’s garage. The “shop” even included an oven to shape ridged foam for the foam sandwich construction to produce the necessary shapes, as Smith did not want to accept a compromise shape because of material constraints. The first Telstar was built solid at beam. The first sail of Telstar was “unbelievable.” Almost immediately it reached 15 knots. It was faster than any racing cat, tacked like a dinghy and went to windward better than any mono hull. The accommodation was better than any Folk-boat which was a very popular mono hull at the time. Telstar was a true revolution - winning every race and it was pure fun to sail. Of course the first boat was very light being built of foam sandwich construction. A year later, Smith launched his first company – A.J.S. Sandwich Yacht Construction in Sandwich, Kent in England to manufacture the new design. The first version of Telstar was very successful and more than 300 units were manufactured, in various revisions. In 1974 Tony designed and produced a bigger, version of Telstar, with rigid hull joins and bigger accommodations. Only a few were produced. In 1981, Tony Smith relocated with his family to United States. A new company, Performance Cruising Inc, was formed in Annapolis, MD to continue manufacturing of the Telstar line. Shortly after that a fire destroyed the factory and the Telstar hull molds. Smith switched to design and produced a completely new boat – the Gemini catamaran. The production was very successful and resulted in Smiths’ developing a very streamlined system with manufacturing done all at one site and direct sales system. The success of Gemini provided a financial stability and a foundation to look back into Telstar design. In 2003 a completely redesigned Telstar 28 was launched, featuring improved hull shapes, a new folding mechanism, and a new mast raising system. The boat was well received and drew a lot of interest. The construction went on and about 90 hulls were built until production halted in 2009. In 2009, a combination of a slowing economy and Tony Smith going for a semi-retirement forced the stop of the Telstar construction. The company split the two product lines and formed a new company to handle the Telstar 28 trimarans. The Gemini line of catamarans continues to be sold under the Performance Cruising brand, and the company went into partnership with Catamaran Company. The Telstar 28 line was put on hold with an unclear future. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Telstar trimaran」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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