Ed Horstman

Ed Horstman introduced his first design in 1964 - the Tri-star 40. This boat was the first trimaran to race in the Multihull Transpac to Hawaii in 1966, taking second place. A similar Ed Horstman design, a Tri-star 39, was the first trimaran to sail east-west around Cape Horn when, crewed by the couple who built her, she encountered 100 mph winds.

New trimaran designs were added during the '70s as the multihull movement was evolving. In 1983, Ed Horstman started designing catamarans and now [2004] there are 45 Tri-star designs offered from 14 ft (4.3 m) to 106 ft (32.3 m), including catamarans and trimarans which are pitched as being suitable for the first time builder. Ed Horstman has written several books on boat building and multihull sailing.