On test: Libertist 853

Tri a little harder

Rupert Holmes tests a 28ft trimaran that makes intelligent use of mini foils to create a blisteringly fast, yet safe, design

There’s nothing new about trimarans with foils. Eric Tabarly’s 16.5m Paul Ricard in the 1970s, for example, was by no means the first. However, the implementation of the mini foils on the Libertist 853 make this one of the stand out boats of its generation.

The foils are positioned well forward, so also counter the tendency for the bows to dig in.

They also offer potential to eliminate leeway. It’s therefore not intended as a boat that will fly clear of the water.

Instead, the small foils beneath each ama contribute significantly to stability and also lift the bows, thus markedly reducing the potential for capsize when pushed very hard in strong winds. The amas have a substantial amount of buoyancy, but the big benefit is that the faster you go the more the foils contribute to lift. As well as boosting speed, this also has an obvious safety advantage.

The designers and builders have tried hard to keep the concept simple and to minimise weight wherever possible, but without sacrificing the ability to handle the boat efficiently, or result in a stratospherically high price tag. The mini foils are just 45 cm deep, matching the depth of the canoe body of the central hull and allow the boat to dry out on a beach. Crossbeams, daggerboard and foils are all carbon, while epoxy is recommended for the main structure, although the base price assumes polyester.

Development started back in 2015, when Libertist founder Adam Waligorski met legendary French multihull designer Erik

ABOVE

In action on slightly windier conditions than test day Lerouge. Our test boat was the prototype, which differs from production versions in having fixed amas and in interior details.

Production boats will also have carbon hinges for the folding amas. The geometry of these means that when they move inwards the amas also move downwards. Therefore when folded both sit in the water, which greatly adds to stability and reduces motion when moored or anchored.

On deck

The key focus for the deck layout is one of simple efficiency, even though the rotating carbon wing mast might initially suggest otherwise. There are only two winches on the boat, but the layout means they are sufficient for every operation. The sheet for the self tacking jib is led

to a clutch on the starboard side just ahead of the winch, halyards all have clutches on the mast, and the mainsheet also has a clutch, while a long curved traveller at the back of the cockpit is the primary control for the mainsail. Spinnaker sheets can also be led to the coachroof winches.

It’s a perfect set up for a boat of this style: weight is minimised, there’s not an excess of string and manoeuvres are easy even single-handed. Yet there’s still potential for careful tweaking of sail shape. The selftacking jib traveller, for instance, has a purchase system each side, enabling the sheeting angle to be adjusted.

Foils are fixed, which massively reduces the complexity of tacks and gybes, making this an ideal set up for easy but fast sailing for those who are not professional sailors. Our test boat was set up with a mainsail with three very deep reefs, a self-tacking hank-on headsail with one slab reef, plus a Code 0.

The cockpit is reasonably spacious, deep and secure, with long benches each side. Initially it seems strange not to have any storage where you’d normally expect to find a lazarette or conventional cockpit lockers, but of course there is plenty of space for storage in the amas.

One of the aspects that I like most about sailing a trimaran is the big stable platform that makes popping forward to do deck work an easy matter. It’s even better on this boat thanks to the completely flat decks – there’s just a small step up from the cockpit onto the flat coachroof and no need to step over beams.

Under sail

Our test took place in light to moderate offshore winds off La Rochelle on a glorious early October afternoon. As there are rudders on each ama, rather than on the central hull, the boat can be steered from the windward ama using a conventional tiller. This gives a brilliant view and puts your weight in the right place. Alternatively you can steer from the central cockpit. either holding the carbon tie bars that connect the two rudders, for using a Spinlock tiller extension.

Unfortunately there was some fouling on the hull – the owner is a chemical engineer and has been testing different potential antifouling formulae, so our speeds would have been even higher with a clean hull. In the strongest breezes we encountered – 12-14 knots true – we nevertheless hit maximum speeds of around 14 knots on a beam reach with the Code 0 set. There’s not a great sensation of speed – this is not unusual for a trimaran, though the leeward foil lifting the bows of the ama out of the water doubtless contributed to this effect. However zipping past all the other boats on the water gave a good impression of just how fast this boat is.

Sailing upwind produced a pleasant surprise, especially when the true wind topped around 13-14 knots, when boat speed would hover in the 10-12 knot range, at a true wind angle of around 50 degrees. In lighter airs performance to windward suffers, but even in the holes, with only 8 knots of breeze, we still made 6 to 7 knots closehauled.

Tacking is beautifully simple, even when helming from the windward ama. Let go of the tiller, walk across the boat, straighten up on the new course as the boat pays off on the new tack, then haul the traveller up to windward.

Short tacking back up the channel towards the marina we reverted to steering from the cockpit, making it easier to pick away between the fleets of Optimists and Lasers that were also returning to base, along with other yachts, motor boats and the occasional rowing skiff.

Of course, it’s important not to be lulled into a false sense of security when sailing a powerful multihull in such a confined space. It’s particularly important to remember just how quickly such a boat will accelerate when bearing away onto a reach.

Fortunately it’s easy to apply the brakes. On dumping the mainsheet and luffing up the boat rapidly slows, then fore-reaches at only one or two knots, allowing the sails to be dropped in a leisurely manner. If you need to bear away in a confined space the solution is to drop the mainsail first, then turn downwind using only the jib.

We’re not able to test the boat in a big sea, however despite the speeds at which we were sailing for much of the test, the decks remained impressively dry throughout. A couple of days before my sail they reported boat speeds of 20 knots, in 16 knots of true wind.

This is therefore the type of boat that shrinks bodies of water like the English Channel, the southern North Sea and the Irish Sea. Providing your destination does not lie directly upwind or downwind, a 90 mile jaunt, such as from the Solent or Dartmouth to Guernsey, can be a fast and fun day sail.

Some of the photos make this look like an extreme machine – but that’s not the experience you feel when sailing it. Granted it’s fast, powerful and needs to be handled by knowledgable hands, but it’s also very easily tamed and does not feel as though you’re sailing on the edge. The additional lift to the bows of the leeward ama at speed is hugely reassuring in this respect.

ABOVE

A simple, easy to handle running rigging set-up

BELOW

Tillers on each ama mean that you can steer from well outboard

Inside

Below decks there’s basic but civilised accommodation with a surprising amount of space for an ultra-fast boat of this length. Headroom at the foot of the companionway is almost 6 feet, and since no attempt has been

made to limit the beam when folded in order to make it transportable on a road trailer (towing width when folded is 2.55m), the saloon is noticeably wider than that of other trimarans of a similar length.

The saloon has a long settee each side, while the galley is forward against the main bulkhead, on the port side of the daggerboard case. The central folding table also houses a cool box or fridge, waste bin and further storage.

Most surfaces are in a high gloss finish that looks good, is easy to clean, and won’t absorb moisture. The the fabric headlining on the prototype boat will be replaced with a moulded finish on subsequent builds. Exposed carbon elements help give the interior a sporty feel and look, without making it too dark.

Our prototype test boat has a narrowish low-slung berth in the forepeak, which would make either a very generous single, or extremely cozy double. However there’s enough overhead clearance to lift this to the level of the knuckle that widens the hull above the waterline, which will create an excellent large double berth, almost 6 feet wide at its head, in future boats. There’s a further double berth under the cockpit, although this has restricted headroom. The heads compartment is forward of the main bulkhead the boats currently in build will also have a shower here.

For many, the biggest downside is a lack of interior stowage space, but there’s easily sufficient for anyone who is well organised and it’s important to remember that excess weight on a boat of this type will quickly sap performance.

ABOVE

Flying a hull in a fresh breeze

RUPERT’S VERDICT

BELOW

A decent amount of interior space with sporty, practical styling This boat fills a void in the market in which there’s a lack of lightweight multihulls that take advantage of foiling technology, yet don’t require sailing permanently on the edge of control. Between them Libertist and Lerouge have done a very good job in keeping the general concept simple, without sacrificing speed or efficiency of handling.

Despite the aim to keep weight to a minimum, the decision not to opt for a narrow central hull to enable the boat to be towed behind a car means there is space for reasonable interior accommodation. Granted it’s smaller than other boats you can buy for the same money, but everything essential is provided in a neat package. The next two examples are currently in production and Libertist unveiled a 7m (22ft) model that can be legally towed at last year’s La Rochelle boat show. Lerouge has also completed designs for 10 and 12 metre versions.

PERFORMANCE: H H H H H BLUE WATER ABILITY: H H HHH LOOKS: H H H H H

THE SPEC

LOA: 8.53m (27'9") LWL: 5.3m (17'3") Beam: 7.1m (23'3") Draught 0.45 to 1.95m (1'5"-6'4") Light displacement: 1,400kg (3,086lb) Wing mast area: 4m² (43ft²) Mainsail: 40 m² (430 ft²) Jib: 19 m² (204 ft²) Spinnaker: 78 m² (839ft² Contact: libertist.eu Price: From €145,000 ex VAT