Formula 40 Trimaran B4

Fat Freddy for sale
I have decided to move on from the Formula 40 Trimaran. My health problems have led me to focus in other areas. My options are to sell the boat as is, offering project management support to complete the repairs, upgrades, and shipping options. If I can’t find a buyer, I will wreck it to sell as parts.
All the composite structural design work for the boat has been done, as well as a thorough ultrasound and tap of hulls and beams.
Replacement of the damaged ama area has been finished and is ready for paint and I have the carbon unis to finish the strengthening upgrade to the beam collars.
For a parts list and shipping options, please contact [email protected] or if you’d like to chat/text, my WhatsApp number is +64212265444.
If you are interested in the best sailing there is to offer, get a syndicate together and literally, enjoy the ride!!

HiBuild going on then Primmer.

Next stage finish fairing, then sanding, and on it goes.

Looking a lot better, turned the corner.

Almost ready for the hull bottom to go on tomorrow

Work has Started on the repair.

Here's an article written for the RSAYS by Peter Hawker which gives a summary of fat freddys race in the 20024 Coastal Classic. Also, I would like to thank Chris Skinner for all his support in the lead-up to the race and his quick thinking to secure the rig and ama, plus the crew, Shaun Grigg, Matt Scarlett, Sam Richardson and Peter Hawker for the hard work getting the boat ready and their time.

THE 2024 Auckland Coastal Classic is New Zealand’s premier coastal yacht race and was held in late October. I was pleased to be offered a crew position on Fat Freddy, a Formula 40 trimaran. These yachts were developed by the French for a range of inshore/offshore, single-handed/ fully-crewed racing multihulls. They were initially developed and dominated by the French in the mid-1980s. The yachts were built to a box rule, 40 ft long and 40 ft beam. The initial group of yachts in the class were catamarans, but eventually in the later 1980’s trimarans were built and were successful due to their improved righting moment. With difficult economic times in France and spiraling costs, the class went into decline and several of the yachts were relocated to Lake Geneva with its gentler sailing environment. Fat Freddy (originally Biscuits Cantreau 4 when in Europe) was so named by the current owner Dave Smith. Dave was originally looking to purchase another of the Formula 40 class trimaran called Full Pelt, but it transpired that a friend purchased Biscuits Cantreau 4 from Switzerland.

On their fourth sail on Auckland Harbour, while traveling upwind, the mast compression had caused the fracture of the main hull, resulting in the bow pointing to the sky and the mast falling down! The owner elected to sell the boat for parts but Dave bought the boat to reconstruct her as he has a background of building/construction. It transpired that previous damage to the yacht prior to her New Zealand purchase had been very poorly repaired and had led to the disastrous main hull collapse.

Dave set up a portable shed and began the challenge of Fat Freddy’s rehabilitation. The ama’s are extremely narrow forward which meant working in a very confined space laying up carbon as well as exposure to the toxic resins. This was circumvented by the addition of a forward hatch. The further Dave progressed into the project the more unexpected issues became evident and it became a six-year odyssey. The main hull was completely reskinned.

Earlier AC45 (Americas Cup catamaran) foils (and rudders) were added with appropriate composite engineering advice and strengthening of the floats. The photograph shows the Toyota decals still visible on the foils. These predate the AC45F foils for the fully foiling catamarans we are all familiar with racing in San Francisco. These straight foils provide leeward float lift and reduce the likelihood of the float bow burying.

The task of rebuilding this beautiful yacht was complicated by the structural failure of an aluminum ladder that led to concussion and significant physical injuries. Fast forward to 2024 and there was a frantic period of bringing the yacht up to competition level and the selection of a professional racing skipper and his picked crew – I was a fortunate addition, having originally bought my first Farrier 9A trimaran Hawkeye from Dave in Auckland 14 years ago. Dave had sailed with us on Carbon Credit in Port Lincoln and Hamilton Island regattas.

The coastal classic is New Zealand’s premier coastal yacht race of 119 nm – only two- thirds the length of the Adelaide to Lincoln race. Usually at this time of the year, the wind direction is south-westerly and therefore a big downhill ride the whole way. The weather briefing on the Thursday evening was simply, “Sorry no southerly this year, we promise one next year but enjoy the experience of 20+ knots breeze on the nose with an increase to 30 knots expected around 2 to 3 am on Saturday. ”The sea state was a 2m swell, rising to 3m at Cape Brett which is the turning point for the reach into the Bay of Islands and the finish off Russell. These conditions would not daunt many of the intrepid South Australian sailors from starting in the Lincoln race. A small difference is that there is a time limit for the race – yachts have to cross the finish line by 14:00 hrs on the Saturday, not generally a problem with a south-westerly but definitely a problem with a strong upwind ride for the smaller yachts. I believe the closed finish line is to get the crews to the post-race party! This year it was a bigger challenge for the smaller yachts as they would be unlikely to clear Cape Brett before the expected blast in the early hours of the Saturday morning.

The race is run by the New Zealand Multihull Association and we were in the last of the four starts. I might add that of the 137 entries originally received, only 67 crossed the start line (three multihulls) and only 37 completed the course. Before we had cleared Auckland Harbour our number one headsail delaminated at the head. We attempted a repair but it didn’t last so we were obliged to go to the number two headsail. Thus we were a little underpowered for the first few hours of the race. Around 3 to 4 hours into the race one of the traveler cars came away from the track. Fortunately there were strong points built in the middle of the beam and to these we lashed the mainsheet block and the second traveler car.

With this central lashing, we had lost the use of our traveler which is not desirable on a multihull as it is required to assist with tacking/gybing/reefing and management of lee and windward helm. It is an important management tool when stopping the yacht, mooring, and berthing.

Nearing the midpoint of the race (Whangarei Heads) we were having a superior ride, averaging 14.5 to 15.5 kts and periodically going into the low 16 kts. The sea state was quite reasonable and we were not over- pushing Fat Freddy. Yep, it was wet! It was about six hours into the race when there was a large bang followed by a second crunching sound. We immediately turned up into the wind and lowered the sails. We found the leeward float had detached from a fractured forebeam close to the float attachment. Once this occurred the resultant forces on the float, assisted by the torsion imparted with the foil, led to the fracture of the float at its aft connection. The aft beam remained intact. The float was being retained to the yacht by the trampoline connections and the standing rigging, and had rolled 30 degrees inwards under both beams and the trampoline. A little clever lashing of the float to the rest of the craft meant that we didn’t capsize nor lose the mast.

As you would expect, the normally very reliable outboard would not start. We were thus disabled short of Whangarei Heads and were on a lee shore and moving slowly in that direction. Mangawai Heads with the bar and surf break was a remote concern. We contacted Dad’s Army (Coast Guard) who set off from Whangārei to provide assistance. The second yacht in the race fleet, the 60 ft Rapido trimaran Romanza, was an hour-and- a-quarter behind and on coming up to us kindly assisted by getting a line across to keep Fat Freddy off the lee shore. The Whangarei Coast Guard arrived and, obviously under the direction of the Auckland Coast Guard service, they proceeded to have a discussion on their options of either towing us to Marsden Cove Marina in Whangarei, or taking off the crew and abandoning the yacht which we were not very happy about. Fortunately, common sense prevailed and we were put under tow at about 5 kts and arrived at the marina just as night fell.

My wife Fiona and Dave’s wife had been paralleling us by road so we made Fat Freddy
secure and we drove on up to Russell where we had accommodation booked. We had to take the rural detour as the ferry from Opua to Russell had stopped for the night. On Saturday the post-race party was less boisterous as so few boats had finished the race and several of those had turned around and elected to head straight back to Auckland.

Over a couple of days we removed everything off the yacht and motored up to a marina a couple of hours further north up from Whangārei Heads where Dave had just recently relaunched the boat after completing the pre-race preparations.

Fat Freddy has now been disassembled and trucked to the suitable facility of an experienced composite shipwright on the Whangaparoa Peninsula. An ultrasound examination of the hulls to confirm the lack of any cracks elsewhere has been completed, and a composite engineer is active in the planning of the repairs and strengthening of the port float and the four beam connections.

It was a memorable experience to be doing those sorts of speeds upwind, though I can assure you it was a very wet ride and impossible to stand up except in the tiny cockpit.

Hopefully this graceful yacht will once again be seen on Auckland Harbour and back for the Coastal Classic next year.

You can watch the start on

Fat Freddy - Coastal Classic 2024 Formula 40 multihull recently refurbished.