How Strong Are Farrier Designs?
Some early pioneering multihulls had structural problems, particularly in holding the floats on, due to lack of knowledge of the stresses involved. But this is no longer the case, provided the designer has the experience and an engineering background. Monohulls have had their own problems over the years, particularly in holding the keel on, and this join is actually under much more concentrated stress than a trimaran float to beam join. But monohulls have been around for decades, the stresses are known, and problems are few, as is the case now with multihulls. All Farrier designs have been designed for rough Australian conditions which make them tough, and in Australia they now have a reputation of being ‘bulletproof’. Boats destined for Australia or other heavy wind areas are not strengthened as they are already strong enough. Safety factors of up to 5:1 are used in structurally critical areas, whereas aircraft typically use 1.5 or 2:1.
