Technical

Adastra - Reflections on the Design and Performance.

After seven years of cruising and 60,000 miles on the log, this multi-award winning yacht has become established as an iconic design, representing a new vision of style and incredible fuel economy. Read more.

Adastra - The Search for a Seakindly Fuel Efficient Vessel. Winner of the 2013 Showboats Award for Naval Architecture.

In recent years there have been a few attempts to find a new solution to achieving low fuel consumption in large ocean going yachts. In this article we will look at the design considerations and compare performances of some of the types of vessel in commission today. We will review aspects of the design of various vessels, not with a view to criticising them, but to show how our thinking has been guided by what has gone before, and then to give our ideas and design concepts on how we have taken up the challenge to reduce fuel consumption and still retain sea kindliness. Read more.

Beyond the Tektron 50 - The Design of the Dogstar 50

In 2000 I was approached by Peter Bryant to design a new up to date version of the Tektron 50, He wanted a cruiser/racer that could beat the current 40 ft racing trimarans racing in Britain. Read more.

The Design of a 52ft Aerorig Cruising Catamaran

In July 1995 I was asked by Dr. Ian Munro to design a new large cruising catamaran with an Aerorig. Dr. Munro has retired and and intends to sail around the world over a period of 10 years with his wife as crew. They have been used to a very comfortable standard of living and wish to cruise without a crew to help, and yet want to have many of the comforts of home, like a washing machine, large galley with refrigeration, and air conditioning. Read more.

70 Foot Cruising Cat

Constructed in Cowes, England to the full American Bureau of Shipping approval for plans and building, this 70 ft. cat has been designed to the highest standard, for performance, strength, weight carrying capacity, and comfort. Mike Schicht was chosen to head the building team because of his extensive composite building experience using vaccuum bagged laminates. Read more.

Tektron 50

This summer sailors on Lake Ontario will see an exceptional new multihull take to the water. This catamaran, which has been built near Toronto, pushes back the boundaries of performance cruising further than has ever been attempted before. Furthermore this boat is intended as a test bed for an exciting new range of yachting instruments manufactured by Tektron Equipment Corporation, and will therefore provide more data than has ever been gathered on a multihull before, in terms of rig and hull stress against performance on all points of sail, and sea states. After tuning up on Lake Ontario, the Tektron 50 is entered in the 1988 Quebec-St Malo race. Read more.

Reflections on the design of Brittany Ferries G.B.

A talk by John Shuttleworth at the Multihull Offshore Cruising and Racing Association A.G.M., January 1982. Various articles have been published about the boat over the last year explaining many of the design features (see Multihulls International Dec 1980) . So rather than go over old ground I thought tonight I would just outline the general design principles and then concentrate on the outrigger design and introduce some new concepts regarding the relationship between wetted surface area and speed. Then I would like to show why Brittany Ferries G.B. was faster than Elf Aquitaine and finally have a look at the future and try and indicate the direction I think design is going to take. Read more.

Spectrum 42

Adapted from an original article in Multihull International 1985 The initial response to this cat in my original article in Multihull International has been excellent. This boat is built with the same high tech concepts as my best racing designs, many new techniques were developed to speed up the building process. 15 years on from when this boat was first launched, several have been built and a number have made ocean crossings. We are all very excited by the performance. She meets all my expectations. Pitching is very well controlled, and the boat trims slightly bow up on a reach as designed. Read more.

Tektron 35 - A Fast Cruising Catamaran

One of the main aims of this new design was to produce a boat with comfortable living accommodation space with as little sacrifice as possible to sailing performance, windward ability and seakeeping qualities. This 35 ft Catamaran exemplifies the new generation of performance cruising multihulls, designed and engineered with the latest thinking on structures and computer designed hull forms. The boat is nevertheless suited for skilled amateur construction. The first production version is currently under construction in Canada by Eugene Tekatch, who built the Tektron 50. Read more.

Shuttle 31

This 31ft catamaran is part of a range of fast cruisers which developed from the highly successful Spectrum 42. Designed and engineered with the latest thinking on structures and computer designed hull forms, the boat is nevertheless suited for skilled amateur construction. The first boat is currently under construction in Brazil by Multimar, built from PVC Foam Sandwich with E glass and polyester resin, although the design lends itself equally well to wood epoxy construction. Read more.

30 Foot Racing Tri "N'aia" for Mike Reppy

After winning class 3 in the 1988 CSTAR in Damiana, the 42ft Tri. I had designed for him in 1982, Mike decided to try and raise money for a bigger racing boat. In the meantime he would build a 30ft racer as a test bed for some new ideas. Initially we started with an all out day racer for San Francisco Bay, but soon Mike decided that he wanted to do the Transpac as well, and that the boat should be demountable so that he could ship her back from Hawaii. Read more.

Safety at Sea

Heavy Weather Sailing in a Multihull

Heavy Weather Sailing in a Multihull. Chapter by John Shuttleworth from Adlard Coles - Heavy Weather Sailing, 4th edition. Read more.

Multihull Design Considerations for Seaworthiness

This article is the text of a talk given by John Shuttleworth at the US Coastguard symposium on seaworthiness. This Paper evaluates how a multihull performs in waves with respect to rolling and pitching. Stability is evaluated both in relation to wind and wave action. In particular reference will be made to Prof. Marchaj's recent work - ' Seaworthiness the Forgotten Factor.' Multihulls are studied under the same criteria as monohulls are evaluated in the book, giving a clear comparison between old and new multihull designs, and monohulls, particularly with regard to capsise in wind and waves. Other factors affecting seaworthiness, such as pitching, surfing, rolling, yawing etc, are discussed. Read more.

Building

High School Project with a Difference

The story of building 2 Shuttle 31 catamarans. Read more.

"Malihini." by Doug Gibson.

The story of building a 35 ft "Two Hoots" type catamaran in Hawaii and sailing her to the USA and back. You need Acrobat Reader to read this article. The article was originally published in Multihulls magazine. Read more.

Cruising

Mark and Suze Hicks maiden voyage to the Med followed by a transatlantic voyage in January 2014.

We got here in two stages. After launching the boat in May of last year (2011) we spent the summer on sea-trails and the endless list of remaining jobs. We planned to leave the UK in July but persistent bad weather held us back until late August when a big crowd finally waved us off from Tenby harbour. Read more.

The story of sailing "Zazen" from England to Australia by Alix Pearce.

Alix Pearce, Multihulls Magazine's youngest jouranalist, writes about her family's voyage from Portsmouth England to Sydney Australia aboard "Zazen", their Shuttle 40 catamaran. Read more.

Sailing a Shuttle 31 through the Abacos islands in the Bahamas.

Gladys Cook Schneider sailed with her husband Dale and children Johnny and Daisy, plus nanny and seasoned Bahamas sailor Capt. Jimmy. This is the story of a family adventure aboard the "Eagle". Read more.

Press

Adastra - The Superyacht Report May 2017

"One hull is good, three is better." Read more.

Adastra - Boat International May 2015

"Look Who Stole The Future - Bill Springer salutes the "disrupters" - boatbuilders and designers who dare to be different and still make it work." Read more.

Adastra - The Superyachts 2014

"Look at Adastra and you see the future - not only of yacht design but also of the industry itself. Her performance and development have global aspects: she has a range of 10,000 nautical miles and was designed in Britain for expatriate owners, who live in Hong Kong, to cruise Indonesia and the world. The interior was designed by a Dane who happens to be the first female commodore of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, and the entire vessel was built in China at a yard owned and managed by Australians." Read more.

Adastra - The Superyacht Report October 2012

".....this project could be compared to Team GB members winning an Olympic gold in front of a home crowd."

"There is a plethora (perhaps even excess) of concept designs or fantasy projects within the superyacht industry, and although they are a healthy and important part of the design process they also engender a degree of cynicism, not only as to whether, but also if (from a practical standpoint) they even could be built. Looking at the radical, exotic and highly individual design of Adastra in renderings, one could be forgiven for thinking it fell into that concept and fantasy category." Tork Buckley. Read more.

Adastra - Yacht Style

This is 'Wow! Factor' personified. It doesn't matter what sort of boating or sailing enthusiast you may be, Adastra turns heads. Queen Amidala's royal star cruiser has come to life, and is in Hong Kong right now. 140ft of pure form, with the lines of a pedigree racer and the appetite of a supermodel on a diet. Breathtaking. Unique. Beautiful. Adastra ("To the stars") comes from the drawing board of the legendary John Shuttleworth, and he is well pleased with the product. Read more.

Adastra - Boat international April 2011

"You will almost certainly have been stopped in you tracks when you picked up the cover of this month's issue. No it's not a spaceship from a far of galaxy, it is the most fascinating, groundbreaking and glorious new super yacht taking shape in China. Destined to ply the Pacific Ocean with its owners. We salute the design, look at the development and bring you the first pictures of her build at the McConaghy shipyard in China." Read more.

Adastra - Multihull Magazine

This amazingly cool engineering masterpiece is not only stylish but provides luxurious accommodation and efficient fuel consumption. Read more.

Adastra - Product Design and Development

NX is an integrated part of a complete digital product development solution, providing all the tools that Shuttleworth needed to explore shape and style, while ensuring better integration and coordination of multiple disciplines, design teams, and CAD systems. This resulted in a faster time-to-market and a seamless transition into engineering, simulation, and manufacturing, according to Orion Shuttleworth, a member of the Shuttleworth design team. Read more.

Adastra - Yachts Russia

Article to follow shortly....

Adastra in Yachts Russia

Adastra - Seashell Lifestyle

It has been described as "ground breaking" this fascinating, salute worthy 42.5 m futuristic superyacht, is one the most beautiful trimaran's ever built. Adastra was launched into the Pearl River in Southern China earlier this year and was designed for long range ocean voyaging. Ad Astra is Latin for "to the stars" a name well suited for this futuristic beauty reminiscent of a starship. Adastra is the result of more than five years of design and discussion with the owners. The objective was to build a yacht that met the needs of a very experienced ocean voyaging couple and their family, with the level of comfort and style that would be expected in a yacht of this class and size. Read more.

Adastra - Megayachts 2014

"Look at Adastra and you see the future - not only of yacht design but also of the industry itself. Her performance and development have global aspects: she has a range of 10,000 nautical miles and was designed in Britain for expatriate owners, who live in Hong Kong, to cruise Indonesia and the world. The interior was designed by a Dane who happens to be the first female commodore of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, and the entire vessel was built in China at a yard owned and managed by Australians." Read more.

Shuttle 47 - Sailing Boat Test

It would seem I am doomed to always do boat reviews on strong wind days. No matter how carefully I plan the test sails with weather forecasts, it always ends up blowing hard. The moderate westerly became a stiff south-easter but then again, big breeze on big boats is no big deal anyway. The catamaran under review is a oneoff custom build by Two Oceans Marine for businessman and diver Mark Van Niekerk, who had some very specific ideas of how he wanted his boat built. I was immediately taken with Mark's attitude when he said he asked for a fast, safe boat. So often cruising boats are slow and slow is usually not safe. None of the standard production boats met his criteria, so the designer John Shuttleworth was engaged to draw the lines of a 47-foot cat to meet the owner's needs. Mark Delany of Two Oceans Marine explained to me that they specialize in custom boats, rather than productions models. Read more.

KILLING ON DESIGN -Tek 35 Catamaran. BY STEVE KILLING.

My design reviews in Canadian Yachting are normally based on drawings alone. Since the comments focus on the merits of the design philosophy, visiting or sailing on the boat is not a pre-requisite. However, Eugene Tekatch convinced me to come down to see his newborn (but no long in gestation) Tek-35 Catamaran, and it was a good thing that I did. Although I had access to the original drawings, after five years of development and building three custom versions of the boat, the deck, sail plan and interior had all significantly changed. It was important to see it in its final configuration. I was very intrigued by the construction process - there was no way I could have imagined its detail and complexity. Read more.

CRUISING "CATTLEYA"-Tek 35 Catamaran.

Our Search, Our Goal By JEAN and MITCH LEAVITT

This article appeared in MULTIHULLS January/February 1997

It was time for a change. We both wanted to do something different. Eventually my wife Jean and I decided it was time to go cruising, rather than wait until retirement to fulfill that dream. Once we made the decision to break away it seemed like such an obvious decision, we wondered why it had been so hard to reach. Two years earlier we had sold our 35' monohull. We loved the boat, but had too little time to use her. Now we needed a boat for extended cruising. Read more.

TEKTRON 35:
THE MULTIHULL OF THE THIRD KIND"

This article appeared in MULTIHULLS World N° 47 July 1993 featuring a TEST review of the TEK35 written by Francois Richard.

In many ways the Tektron 35 is a very special catamaran on the more and more creative and productive market which is currently offered. Seen in La Rochelle in September 92 during the Grand Pavois show, this catamaran of the third kind will not in principal break any sales records but has the potential to please those enthusiasts who do not find what they are looking for in current cruising multihull catalogues. Read more.

MAIDEN VOYAGE - TEKTRON 35E

CN Tower to Bermuda.

This article appeared in MULTIHULL INTERNATIONAL VOL.25 NO.295 AUGUST 1992 written by ALISTAIR WOOD.

THE FIRST EUROPEAN specification Tektron 35E looked superb floating by the dock at the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club as the delivery crew arrived in Canada for the start of an epic journey to the Mediterranean via the inland waterways to New York. Owned by Katamaran Konstructions GmbH, the Vienna based European agents, Tektron was to undergo the ultimate test: a Transatlantic passage en route for the La Rochelle Boat Show in September of this year. Read more.

Fast Cruising Cat .....
TEKTRON 35.

This article appeared in MULTIHULL INTERNATIONAL VOL.23 NO.264 JANUARY 1990 designed by JOHN SHUTTLEWORTH.

ONE OF THE MAIN AIMS of this new design (writes John Shuttleworth) was to produce a boat with comfortable living accommodation space with as little sacrifice as possible to sailing performance, windward ability and seakeeping qualities. Read more.

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Tektron 50 Yacht Design

This article appeared in MULTIHULL INTERNATIONAL VOL.21 NO.241 FEBRUARY 1988 written by JOHN SHUTTLEWORTH.

This summer sailors on Lake Ontario will see an exceptional new multihull take to the water. This Catamaran, which has been built near Toronto, pushes back the boundaries of performance cruising further than has ever been attempted before. Furthermore this boat is intended as a test bed for an exciting new range of yachting instruments of manufactured by Tektron Equipment Corporation, and will therefore provide more data than has ever been gathered on a multihull before, in terms of rig and hull stress against performance on all points of sail, and sea states. After tuning up on Lake Ontario, the Tektron 50 is entered in the 1988 Quebec-St Malo race. Read more.

Multihull Design Considerations for Seaworthiness

MULTIHULLS VOL.14 NO.1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1988 written by JOHN SHUTTLEWORTH.

This Paper evaluates how a multihull performs in waves with respect to rolling and pitching. Stability is evaluated both in relation to wind and wave action. In particular reference will be made to Prof. Marchaj's recent work - 'Seaworthiness the Forgotten Factor.' Multihulls are studied under the same criteria as monohulls are evaluated in the book, giving a clear comparison between old and new multihull designs, and monohulls, particularly with regard to capsize in wind and waves. Other factors affecting seaworthiness, such as pitching, surfing, rolling, yawing etc, are discussed. Read more.

"MULTIHULLS ON PERFORMANCE. 35 Ft. Catamaran "Two Hoots"

This article appeared in MULTIHULLS VOL.11 NO.1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1985 written by JOHN SHUTTLEWORTH.

Many people wonder about what the benefits of ocean races are to ordinary sailors. Races like the OSTAR and La Route du Rhum, where enormous sums of money are spent on the latest technology, materials, and systems, to assist the shorthanded sailors to sail boats as fast and as safely as possible. Read more.

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