Sport cruiser

The PT-11 is designed to be a "sport cruiser for a very discerning client." It is a very interesting trimaran designed by David Walworth of St. Croix, a graduate of MIT and the Landing School in Maine. The boat is offered as a semi-custom boat with owner customization being promoted. So if you see something here that does not exactly suit what you would want, the factory in Rhode Island would be happy to make the changes for you.

The length on deck is 36 feet 1 inch and the beam is 28 feet 2 inches. You can get this boat with disconnecting amas for transport but the standard model comes with fixed amas. The main hull is very narrow on the waterline but flares out quickly to gain the beam needed for the accommodations. Displacement is listed at 6,000 pounds. That's very light for a 38-foot boat and gives the PT-11 a D/L of 62. The LOA of the amas is the same as the main hull. With the daggerboard down the draft is 7 feet 6 inches. Board up draft is 4 feet. The photos I have show the PT-11 blasting along quite nicely. I think this design would make a great addition to the growing fleet of racing trimarans in the Pacific Northwest.

But the speed the PT-11 offers comes at a price. With the narrow footprint the PT-11 has on the design waterline the cabin sole is severely limited. And, without getting totally grotesque with topsides flare, volume for accommodations is not great even at 38-feet length on deck. What I am saying is you probably would not buy this boat if you were after a spacious accommodation plan. But it's adequate. There are have two layout plans and one has a good-sized galley to port and a large chart table to starboard. Forward of this there is a short L-shaped settee to port and a straight settee to starboard. The daggerboard trunk becomes a control element in this design and nestles up against the longitudinal bulkhead that forms the head to port.

I don't have rig dimensions so I'll use the sail area figures on the promotional material. Given the overall look of this design work I suspect the numbers are accurate and reliable. This is not always the case. Upwind sail area with the square top main and what appears to be about a 100% jib is 842 square feet. That's a lot for a boat that weight only 6,000 pounds.

A retractable sprit will get the asymmetrical chute well off the bow for easy jibing. The chute is flown from the masthead and more than doubles the upwind sail area. The carbon, rotating-wing-section spar by Hall Spars is optional. You can also order a Park Avenue-style carbon boom from Hall. The standard rig is an aluminum mast and boom.

I like the look of this design. I like the name of the boat in the promo material, Three Little Birds. That's my all-time favorite Bob Marley tune.