Project Description
Before there was Corsair, before there were folding trimarans, there was a Concept 40. Minette is my take on a Concept 40 by Craig Ashby. Launched in 1984, Minette is a demountable, trailerable, 40 ft. catamaran made from cold-molded spruce veneer hulls and a composite and plywood cabin. Four bolts and 2 pins and the boat comes apart. On the racing end, she is the most “winning” multihull in California and at one point held the course record for the Santa Barbara – King Harbor race for over a decade. Today, after 30 years of sailing she is still winning races and going strong……a testament to wood/epoxy construction and advanced design.On the cruising end, we have driven her, on our own truck and trailer to Florida (where we cruised to the Bahamas) and to Baja ( where we cruised the Sea of Cortez).
Major Innovations:
1. Ability to raise the 58 ft. aluminum, rotating mast without a crane, using the boom and boat winches for leverage and power.
2. Largest demountable, self-trailerable multihull in the U.S.
3. Very light construction, mixing modern composites with wood/epoxy simplicity to make a very durable boat.
