Malcolm Tennant Multihull Design Limited

The company, founded by Malcolm Tennant, develops designs for a whole range of multihulled craft from small racing catamarans and folding trimarans to large passenger car ferries.

Malcolm Tennant became involved in boat design in 1966 when he founded GTF (Given, Tennant & Fay) International Catamarans with friends and participated in the development of an international A-class catamaran. The 32 of these boats built were among the first of their class in the world and they won a number of Auckland and National titles.

Later Malcolm Tennant became a licensed builder of Tornados and Stingrays and then in 1969 he designed, and built a 36 ft (11 m) catamaran, VORPAL BLADE, which was the first in this size to use alloy cross beams instead of the more conventional box timber.

In 1972 Tennant produced the BAMBOO BOMBER which was a benchmark in stressed plywood construction and use of wing masts. The following year the popular GREAT BARRIER EXPRESS was introduced, which became the archetype for a larger 'off the beach' style catamaran. More than two hundred of this design were built. The strip-planked composite method of construction, now commonplace, was pioneered by Malcolm Tennant when he developed the design of WILD THING, the first multihull to be built in this way.

Since 1983, power catamaran designs have become an increasing part of the work of the design office. Malcolm Tennant claims to have originated the hull form that is rapidly becoming the accepted shape for displacement power catamarans world-wide, and much of the energy of the business is focused on these craft. Nevertheless, sailing multihulls remain important and new designs continue to emerge.