THIS MONTH’s
THE EDITOR’S VIEW…
Other than the occasional superyacht or record-breaker nobody seems to have made a serious attempt at building a production power-tri but these new LEENS seem to make a lot of sense. If they turn out to be as efficient, spacious and stable as they claim, they could be onto a winner.
1 BIRTH OF THE ‘POWER-TRI’
French multi-hull specialist Neel is set to launch the first ever production range of long-distance power trimarans. The yard, which has been successfully building and selling Neel sailing trimarans for over 10 years, now plans to develop a dedicated range of blue-water power trimarans under the brand name Leen (Neel spelled backwards).
First to arrive will be a Leen 56 in early 2021, followed shortly after by a Leen 72. As well as an extensive main deck area, the principal benefit of these “power-tris” is efficiency. Three narrow beam hulls generate far less resistance than a single beamy monohull, meaning greatly reduced fuel consumption. The yard hasn’t yet released any estimates for fuel burn rates but given the modest engine size and the large fuel tanks (the 56 carries 2,875 litres of diesel), this should give a safe cruising range of well over 500nm.
Unlike conventional powercats, which have an engine in each hull, the power-tris have a single diesel in the
