# Story of a Corsair F28r



## ImASonOfaSailor (Jun 26, 2007)

I have been meeting people that have these types of boats online, and everyone have been so nice and excited! We were in Lake Erie near downtown Cleavland we meet these nice folks at their yacht club, it was blown 18knt + when we went out. Know it has been 10 years since I have biueen on lake Erie in these conditions. We started to put the Main sail up and it must have taken 10 minutes it seemed! It was a big sail it was so beautiful to see it up close! It was massive! Maybe it was just me b ut the Mainsail is 321 sq ft it looked big. The wind picked up we suddenly were up to 12 knots going to weather!
We feel off a little and the knot just started going up. Soon we were at 18, 19 knts, what a ride this person was showing me what the boat could do, and I picked the perfect day! it was soooo fast I have never felt this before , it was amazing and a great ride the boat would just pick up speed and thats all it was doing he would show me how to slow it down and that is what we were doing, the wind was picking up more and I think it was up to 30knts the water was turning green, and I know that is serious.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Corsair 28r's may be fast, but they've got the accommodations of a canoe. No standing headroom in the cabin, usually only a Porta-pottie and camping stove. They're also, generally, very wet boats to sail. They're great for daysailing and racing, but not so good as a cruising boat.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

You got that right. Fun, fast and not for sea duty. Remember the guy a few months back who went over in a C31 off new jersey in moderate conditions and was found by the CG in his survival suit on the upside down hull? 
Quite a ride though...he almost made the complete round trip to the BVI's & back with a strategy of out-running the bad weather and only going when he had a geat weather forecast.


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## ImASonOfaSailor (Jun 26, 2007)

Yes I do see that so what does a man like me look at? This boat was screaming I did enjoy the speed! Yes we got wet, but I really did not mind that either. So what do i do about the inside? I really want a boat like this it handled this weather well enough to stay out and sail in it. Most of the monohulls were headed back in! Where can I get a ride on your style at? not a lot of people own those either? I know it was blown near 30knts.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

It would help to know where you are. 

There are only about 65 of the T28's out in the world AFAIK. Mine is probably the most heavily modified of the bunch. I've got a few videos up on Youtube, most were taken in 25+ knots conditions.  Do a search for Telstar28 on youtube and you'll find my videos.

I just got an e-mail from one owner of a sister ship who took his from St. Pete, FL, to Dominica, the Bahamas, the TCIs, the Caymans, then down to Honduras and over to Guatemala, which is where his boat is now. 3500 nm on that trip.



ImASonOfaSailor said:


> Yes I do see that so what does a man like me look at? This boat was screaming I did enjoy the speed! Yes we got wet, but I really did not mind that either. So what do i do about the inside? I really want a boat like this it handled this weather well enough to stay out and sail in it. Most of the monohulls were headed back in! Where can I get a ride on your style at? not a lot of people own those either? I know it was blown near 30knts.


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## ImASonOfaSailor (Jun 26, 2007)

Well this guy says he had it up to 42 knots in Canada ! I don't know what C31 guy was doing but it must have been wrong! We will never know the whole story! I am in Pittsburgh and will travel to lake Erie!


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## ImASonOfaSailor (Jun 26, 2007)

Sailingdog which person are u on these videos? And what is the history of Telstar?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Hmm... I am the only short balding guy in the videos... usually wearing a Tilley Hat. 

The Telstar 28 was designed by Tony Smith and announced in late 2003. The boat's hull design are partially based on those of the Gemini 105Mc catamaran, as is the centerboard mechanism and rudder mechanism. 

This is the third boat in the Telstar line, as it was preceded by the Telstar 26, of which there were about 300 made, and the Telstar 35, of which there were several dozen made IIRC. The previous Telstars were mostly built in England, but I think a few were made in the USA prior to the factory fire that nearly wiped out the company, and led to the development of the Gemini catamarans. 

The folding system on the Telstar is completely different from those of previous folding trimarans. Unlike that of the Corsair, it is a tool-less folding system, which, IIRC, uses four bolts on each side and a wrench. The Telstar uses two line clutches on each side to lock the amas and nets. 

The amas on the Telstar are also very unlikely to retract, even if you forget to lock them in the open position. They need to move forward to retract...and if the boat is under sail, that isn't going to happen. They also need to submerge about four inches in order to retract, so the buoyancy of the ama tends to keep it deployed, even if the boat isn't moving. Once the line clutch is locked, the amas are pretty much going to stay out no matter the conditions. 

The mast-raising system on the Telstar is also rather unique. It doesn't require the trailer winch, like the one the Corsairs use, and allows you to lower or raise the mast on the water or on the trailer. It also allows you to reverse the process at any point or stop the process and leave the mast in a partially lowered position by cleating off the mast raising line. There's a video of it at the Telstar website. 

It was also designed specifically as a cruiser, not a sport trimaran. Unlike the Corsair 28, it has a full marine head, two sinks, a holding tank, a propane stove, standing headroom, and an option for a refrigerator. The Corsair 28 generally comes with a portapottie and a camping stove. 

In terms of performance, it isn't generally as fast as a Corsair 28 or 31, but it has almost as much cabin space as a Corsair 31. It can easily do ten-to-twelve knots. I've had mine up to 15 knots, and generally sail her at 9+ knots.

The Telstar is a much drier boat to sail than either Corsair due to the major difference in ama design. The Telstar amas have an inboard hard deck, which is about 18-20" wide. This deck appears to block most of the spray coming off the side of the ama that would end up in the cockpit on a Corsair. The amas also have a foot-high bulwark formed by the outer side of the ama along this deck, meaning that it is far safer to walk along the amas or nets than on a Corsair, which has a rounded top to the ama and much wider nets with no outboard bulwark or life lines. The bulwark is so effective that we generally don't even install the lifelines and stanchions that come with the Telstar. 

The Quorning Dragonflies are beautifully made boats, but much more expensive than the Telstar without really offering much in the way of performance or accommodations. The folding system on the Quornings also leaves a bit to be desired, as the amas swing aft, rather than tuck under the main hull. This means that you have to pay for a longer slip if you're storing the boat in a slip. 

I hope that helps.


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## ImASonOfaSailor (Jun 26, 2007)

so where can I ride on one of these at?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

if you're down in annapolis for the big october boat show, stop by and visit *multihull demo days*, which is either concurrent or just after the boat show. it is hosted by *Performance Cruising*, who make the Telstar 28 and the Gemini Catamaran. You can reserve a test sail through the website.

If you're up in the New England area, you can come out on my boat. 



ImASonOfaSailor said:


> so where can I ride on one of these at?


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## ImASonOfaSailor (Jun 26, 2007)

Well there is always more to a story I found this and it looks pretty good!
Farrier Marine


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

re corsairs,it is no problem lowering the mast on the water,I did it last week.then we motored round to the boat ramp,folded the pontoons (about 5 mins),backed the trailer and loaded the boat.Very straight forward.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Hatrick-

Exactly how did you lower the mast on the water. All of the corsairs I've seen thus far use the trailer winch to lower the mast. I know the mast lowering process on the Corsair can't be as simple as the one on the Telstar 28. I've seen and heard about too many dropped masts on Corsairs for that to be the case. 

Imasonofasailor-

Be aware that Farrier is no longer associated with Corsair marine for many reasons, much having to do with their unwillingness to follow his strict QC control procedures.


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## sail975 (Apr 25, 2003)

Lowering the mast on the water only requires putting a block up on the bow. Rather than running a line to the winch on the trailer the line gets run through the block on the bow back to one of the winches on the boat. Not a problem at all. The Corsair 28 tends to be more of a racer. As Sailingdog mentioned it does not have standing headroom and many have a very stripped, bare-bones interior. That boat does have a decent sized one design racing fleet. The Corsair 31 is a little more appropriate for cruising (they even have a UC - Ultimate Cruiser model which I think gives you running hot water). The 31 probably has about 6'2" of standing headroom (going by memory- I'm 6'2 and didn't have a problem standing in the main area). Ours had an enclosed head with holding tank and an Origo Alcohol stove. The folding system does have a bolt at the end of each beam to secure it, although I think the geometry of the 28's folding system may not require it- you'd have to check for sure. Securing the bolt was never a big deal- you should check one out- Ian Farrier's folding system is truly remarkable.

Farrier designed trimarans (corsairs included) have a very active yahoo group which is fantastic for support and information. It is called "f-boats" and the email address is f-boats(at)yahoogroups(dot)com.

We had a Corsair 31 for a couple of years and loved the boat. Sailing in the Florida Keys once on the bay side we were on a broad reach in 15 kts of wind with nearly glassy water. Easily averaging 15 knots I think the highest speed we saw was 18 kts. Sailing like that really doesn't get any better. The accomodations though are a bit tight and not luxurious, but if it is sailing performance you are after these boats can't be beat.

Steve


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## WouldaShoulda (Oct 7, 2008)

ImASonOfaSailor said:


> Yes I do see that so what does a man like me look at? This boat was screaming I did enjoy the speed! Yes we got wet, but I really did not mind that either. So what do i do about the inside? I really want a boat like this it handled this weather well enough to stay out and sail in it. Most of the monohulls were headed back in! Where can I get a ride on your style at? not a lot of people own those either? I know it was blown near 30knts.


You can always put an enclosure on it!!


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