Both trimarans and catamarans have their advantages and disadvantages which means that picking one over the other is not only hard but probably impossible.
Advantages of trimaran vs catamaran. Unlike a catamaran which has one trampoline or one central platform the trimaran can offer you a spacious principle hull that is infinitely more comfortable and safe in use. Not quite as late as a monohull but a useful tradeoff. On top of this catamarans can decide to use just one engine in low wind areas.
However a catamaran is lighter on the water so it usually takes less energy to move a catamaran. They can even be motored while folded and will fit nicely into any standard width marina space. Catamarans save on weight because the multihull design eliminates the need for a keel counterweight as the same purpose righting the ship is served by the hull spacing.
I get emails and comments all the time asking me for more information on trimarans and yet Ive never done anything with them. Since you sail the tri at max 15 degrees of heel theres almost as good a margin between normal and panic as there is in a monohull. While catamarans seem to be the cruisingmultihull of choice trimarans have some distinct advantages that make themwell worth consideration.
This can make them difficult to turn however. Typically these multihulls are 25-30 faster than a monohull of the same size. For more videos about Neel Trimarans consult our playlist htt.
The angle is better. Trimarans are an entirely different deal as they trend more toward the performance end of the spectrum and can regularly double the sailing speed of monohulls on nearly any point of sail. Trimarans can save you a lot of space when accommodated in a harbour marina or on land so reducing storage costs.
Almost as much righting moment as a cat and maximum moment is far later 25 degrees. With catamarans vastly popular in the charter industry and showing no sign of abating lets compare the pros and cons of monohull and catamaran strictly on the charter work point of view. This eliminates the fatigue factor which benefits both safety and comfort.