Glossary · Hull & structure
Multihull
Also called: Multicoque
A boat with several hulls, a catamaran or a trimaran, stable thanks to its width rather than to ballast.
A multihull gets its stability from the spacing of its hulls: when the wind heels it, the leeward hull sinks deeper and the boat resists without needing a heavy keel. Lighter than a monohull of the same size, it is much faster.
The other side of the coin: once capsized, it does not right itself. The big racing multihulls (Ultim, Ocean Fifty) are trimarans; catamarans are mostly seen in inshore racing and cruising.
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No source yet · updated 30 Sept 2026