Kelsall Catamarans

Derek Kelsall is a designer, builder and sailor who has played a pioneering role in the development of the modern multihull. The company he founded, Kelsall Catamarans, offers a wide rage of plans or kits for home builders.

All designs are based on a building method Derek Kelsall developed called KSS (Kelsall Swiftbuild Sandwich). In the KSS system the hulls are formed from flat GRP and foam panels, which are built up previously on a table.

Derek Kelsall's achievements include:

• First to race the North Atlantic solo in a multihull
• First to win a major open offshore race in a multihull
• Britain's top multihull race designer for many years
• Pioneer of sandwich construction methods
• Designer of several boats holding sailing performance records

Early Kelsall designs:

• TORIA; 42 ft (12.8 m) trimaran of foam sandwich construction. Won the 1966 RWYC Two-handed Round Britian Race. It was the first multihull to win a major offshore race, and during a delivery trip, introduced Eric Tabarley to offshore multihull racing.
• TRIFLE; sistership to TORIA with more beam. She dominated UK South Coast racing for 10 years.
• GREAT BRITAIN III; 80 ft (24.4 m) trimaran, comissioned by Chay Blyth, the UK nautical adventurer and racing sailor. She was the world's largest trimaran when she was launched in 1976. GREAT BRITAIN III was run down by a ship in the same year when Chay Blyth was sailing her single handed, both survived and she was later renamed TRICK.
• FT; 35 ft ( 10.7 m) trimaran, designed for the 1976 OSTAR, she won the Crystal Trophy in 1974 and 1975 on handicap. She was second the Round Britain Race in 1974 in the under 35 ft class and the Round the Island Race (Isle of Wight, UK) in 1975 in the multihull class.
• GREAT BRITAIN IV; 53 ft (16.1 m) trimaran built to compete in the 1980 OSTAR; she was second in the 1980 Round the Island Race.

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