Alain,

I have been working on a new design for a homebuild, the idea is for a very cheap catamaran, The hull material cost will be similar to a normal cat but it will be very quick to build, more like 40 hours, and it uses the same biplane windsurfing rig that we use on our four hulled boat. As most people have said it is the rig that is one of the most expensive components, but two windsurfing rigs are much cheaper, cheaper still if you get them 2nd hand on ebay. Biplane rigs perform really well. Also the design should scale up to a bigger boat if it proves succesful.

It won't be the same performance as a blade but will be better than a Wharram, more like a H16.

I am looking for a guinea pig for my new design as I am too busy with my four hulled boat and a childrens monohull to progress this idea this year. If you are interested I will supply free plans to your specification (length, width and payload) so long as you don't pass them on.

You can contact me via gareth at fourhulls.com

All the best

Gareth
www.fourhulls.com