Multihull Seamanship

This is an A-Z of seamanship skills for multihull sailors. There are many textbooks on the market which detail general seamanship principles. This is not one of them. Multihull Seamanship is about sea-going catamarans and trimarans and the skills needed to understand and enjoy them to their utmost. Both racing and cruising yachts are catered for, as are trailer-able multihulls. Seamanship is not a black and white skill. It is an evolution of knowledge; a building of information through experiment, thought and experience. There is no definitive word on an evolving skill. Multihull Seamanship started as Dr Gavin Le Sueur's personal index of 'how-to's. It has grown through experience and others sharing their knowledge. It should be on the bookshelf of every catamaran and trimaran. This book is for people who are already multihull sailors, or for those who are contemplating multihull sailing. It has served this community for over 20 years and this second edition is fully updated. It is illustrated with delightful line drawings by Nigel Allison.

Praise for Multihull Seamanship

"A 'must read' for anyone with multihull ambitions."
— Modern Boating

"Practical… valuable reading for novices as well as those who have been around the scene and want to improve their skills."
— Cruising Helmsman

"This is the second, updated edition… and it's excellent. Gavin Le Sueur and his co-skipper Catherine have a lifetime's experience of cruising, racing and bringing up their children in multihulls. Le Sueur's approach is both passionate and scientific. His wealth of hard-won experience is organised alphabetically: C, for instance, includes Capsize Prevention, Capsize Survival, Cargo, Children, Cyclones. 'Babies in bassinets can be gimballed in a net bag secured strongly to the hull', is a sentence to be relished. There's S for Sinking, W for Whales and a huge amount of day-to-day lore in between. Le Sueur conveys eloquently why multihulls are special. His 'Seamanship Rules' should be learnt by heart."
— Yachting Monthly

"When I had finished reading it, I started to understand how I should be thinking about handling my multihull, rather than just following general written advice. I started to think about the vessel and its interaction with the forces around it: how one action, say on sail trim, could change the dynamic on another, say dagger board loading. This led to a greater understanding of load dynamics in developing conditions, ensured a more comfortable ride on board and resulted in less wear and tear on gear. This new edition of Le Sueur's book must be a recommended read for anyone on the multihull journey."
— Royal Cruising Club

About the Author

Gavin Le Sueur built his first multihull, a 16 ft Mosquito catamaran, while at high school. After graduating in Medicine from Melbourne University, he purchased and moved aboard a 35 ft Hedley Nicol 'Wanderer' trimaran. To learn as much as possible about multihull sailing he decided to compete in the two-handed bicentennial Around Australia Yacht Race with his future wife. For this adventure they obtained the then fastest offshore racing catamaran in Australia – a 37 ft Crowther Super Shockwave named D Flawless which they raced in many Southern Ocean races. In one of these they sailed through the eye of a cyclone and completed the race only to be struck by a whale when sailing back home and forced to abandon ship.

They were lent another catamaran for the gruelling Around Australia race which they completed, getting engaged on the finish line. Since then they have owned 5 different catamarans in which they have cruised and raced in Australia and explored the Pacific and south-east Asia.

About Fernhurst Books

Fernhurst Books was founded in 1979, initially publishing books related to dinghy racing. The list soon expanded to include cruising and other watersports. In 2006 the business was sold to John Wiley, but in 2013 a group of sailing enthusiasts (including the original founder) bought the list and name back, once again creating an independent nautical publisher owned and run by sailors. Fernhurst continues to publish books that instruct, inform and inspire those with a passion on, in or under the water. Their 140+ titles range from how-to guides to narrative to coffee-table books, covering sailing, surfing, canoeing, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, swimming, diving and fishing.