We've added the information for our much-loved Aluminium Lateen Rig to the Triad Plans!

The original Triad used a Lateen rig with wooden spars, as that was what we had available when we did the prototype, and it is certainly easier to get wood spar material than aluminum tubing, but the Aluminium Lateen is a lighter rig and what we would have used, if we could have! We used it in a dozen of our sailing machines, as seen in these photos, and it's a perfect fit for the Triad. Now the Triad plans include this rig option!

You can choose whichever rig you prefer!

The Triad was based on the centuries-old lines of Greek sponge boats to come up with a versatile, lightweight, romantic little boat that's good for rowing, sailing, or motoring. The 12' Triad can handle engines to 5hp., although we're kind of partial to electric outboards with solar-recharge setups. The hull can handle a good load (we've rowed with five people aboard), and is a stable platform for fishing and diving. The full-length keel makes for straight rowing, as well as sailing with the board up in shallow water (or beaching with the kick-up rudder).

The Triad bears no little resemblence to our old Amphora, a smaller (8') rowboat we designed as a project for young people. The Amphora was a great rowboat and so is the Triad: they track straight easily and retain their momentum well despite the seemingly broad beam (the light weight is a big plus here, as there just isn't much boat in the water when lightly loaded!)

When we were working on the prototype of the Triad, we had access to a nice big area of shallow, protected water. One disadvantage of this area (we thought) was that at low tide it was too shallow to sail. We were happy to just use the Triad in its sail-mode when the tide was in, but we got caught once as the tide had gone out a bit and we either had to row a long way back into a fairly strong wind or try sailing without the daggerboard down. We found out pretty quickly that the Triad does very nicely withthe board up! It certainly prefers to have the daggerboard in place, but in shallow water one can sail on the full-length keel and chine and do darn well! A very handy discovery and we spent the rest of the summer sailing all the time!

The Triad has a lot of capacity for excursions and adventures of many kinds. The area ahead of the mast is a storage cuddy for camping or fishing gear, anchors, provisions for an afternoon picnic—all sorts of stuff! We have used our triad for an overnight camping trip with no problem.

The Triad is a versatile boat, usable for sailing fun, fishing, all sorts of adventures. These builder photos will give you a good look at how our builders are enjoying their Triads!

Click Here to start exploring the photo galleries!