The Tao of Tony - A Look at 30 Years of Building World Class Multihulls

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With over 1000 catamarans sailing around the world, it’s fair to say that the Gemini is one of the most popular cruising catamarans ever built. The reasons are as varied as the owners, but performance, design, and value are consistently part of the mix. Performance and design are quantifiable attributes, yet “value” has always been difficult to define. Certainly price and value seem to work together, yet “something more” than price works into the idea of value. After 27 years of Gemini production, “something more” is what designer Tony Smith at Performance Cruising is continually redefining.

Tony Smith set out in the multihull manufacturing business by simply putting one foot in front of the other. An inexpensive set of plans for a plywood trimaran set the 18-year old Smith’s mind alight with all the possibilities that sailing represents. Success in business came slowly and only as a result of performing as a one-man factory at times. It’s easy to romanticize the art and passion of building boats, but it can often be a heart breaking business. In the case of Performance Cruising, successfully manufacturing boats only comes as a result of an unyielding philosophy to keep things simple, functional, and within reach of the masses - this is part of the “something more” that Tony Smith defines as value.

Of course, if simplicity was the singular goal, Smith could have taken to designing monohulls. Yet multihulls always held his fascination and represented the best way forward to speed and performance. Where, perhaps, Smith differs from the majority of multihull designers is in integrating simplicity and cost analysis into every aspect of the design and build to achieve the end goal: a performance-oriented cruising catamaran at an obtainable price.

The history of Tony Smith’s long adventure in the multihull industry traces back to England during the 1970’s during which time there were a handful of designers all building somewhat similar cruising catamarans. The sizes ranged from about 26’ to 40’ and includes such notable builders as Tom Lack Catamarans Ltd. with the Catalac 8M - 11M, Sailcraft Ltd. with the Iroquois, Comanche, Cherokee, Apache, and Aztec, as well as Fisher Marine with the CatFisher 28 and 32.

At about this time, Smith was hard at work building, not a catamaran, but the original Telstar 26 trimaran. The small factory was located at the Sandwich Marina on the Kent Stour estuary on the southern east coast of England. Smith had managed to build up a stable market in England as well as the rest of Europe. The U.S. provided a small but growing market and Smith exhibited annually at the big sail show in Annapolis (a show Performance Cruising still attends some 38 years later).

Within a year of starting production in Mayo, a disastrous fire burnt down the entire factory and nearly killed Smith as he attempted to battle the flames. The ignition source was believed to have been an unattended “hot pot” of catalyzed gelcoat. With barrels of resin, acetone, wood, and boats in build, it took just a few minutes for the entire building to go up in flames. Perhaps some people would have taken such a calamity as fate and quickly made plans to return home; but just as fate can take away, so it can provide. The day following the fire, Tony and his wife Susan sat in the small office building next to the smoldering ashes of the factory. As they discussed what to do next, there came a knock at the door from a man inquiring about a cruising catamaran.

While still in England, Smith had salvaged the molds for the defunct Aristocat catamaran. Smith intended to rework the molds and produce a prototype catamaran for testing and possible introduction to the U.S. market. Before the factory fire, Smith was test marketing the idea with a flyer describing what would become the Gemini. Evidently, the idea took hold at just the right time. The Telstar was put on indefinite “hold” while Smith and his crew helped rebuild the burnt out factory, rework the old catamaran molds, and within four months produced the first Gemini cruising catamaran, aptly dubbed the “Phoenix.”

During that time in the early 1980’s, the multihull market in the U.S. consisted mainly of beach catamarans and small one-off builders. Cruising catamarans suffered from criticisms such as “too eccentric,” “hard to tack,” and “tough to sail to weather.” This was in contrast to the European market which was thriving with interest and new designs. In France, boat builders even benefitted from government subsidies by building large catamarans for charter in the Caribbean. The American market, however, was slow to realize the intrinsic benefits of a well designed cruising catamaran. It would take years before the acceptance level would rise to anything near the current interest and variety of cruising multihulls.

To stir up interest and build up a good order book for the new Gemini catamaran, Smith priced the boat at the rough equivalent of a comparably sized monohull. In the case of the 33’ Gemini, this would equate to 44’ monohull which, in the 1980’s, averaged $45,000. Within months, the momentum continued to build so that Performance Cruising was again up and running with a solid design and a good order book.

Production Engineering

Well aware that success doesn’t last, Smith began the process of re-thinking the way sailboats are built. If Performance Cruising was to stay in business, it would only happen as a result of unrelenting efficiency and good design. This was a tall order considering how complex the Gemini was compared to a similar sized monohull. Two hulls, enormous square footage, complicated shapes, interior liners, and nearly twice the average fittings of a monohull were all aspects that threatened to drive the price out of reach to a sizable market.

The complexity of the design was just one challenge of getting the new endeavor efficiently operating. Few people outside the marine manufacturing industry know the challenge associated with establishing a successful boat production line. The start up costs, employing and training skilled labor, building supplier relationships, and local regulations are all significant obstacles. Such a challenge requires a good product, ready buyers, and most importantly - a realistic production plan. Smith had enough experience at this point to recognize that missing any one of these key components would quickly lead to a failing business.

The design of the Gemini was already a proven success. The shallow draft, kick-up centerboards, accommodation, and other unique features made her an easy sell. Local labor and suppliers were also readily available. The production strategy, however, required some new ideas. Smith had already worked for and known lots of boat builders that had gone out of business following an initial wave of success. "I considered that the only way the business would succeed would be to completely reinvent how our boats are built. Every job involved with each stage of production would have to be standardized with a focus on efficiency."

Yet, Smith had something new on his mind - a complete re-mold of the entire Gemini concept.

Efficiency in Design & Build

After having built and delivered 5 years worth of Gemini 3000, 3200 and 3400 catamarans, Tony was set to take the knowledge brought by this experience and design a completely new Gemini from the ground up. The relative size of the boat would remain the same at 33' length and 14' beam. The changes Smith had in mind would be a quantum jump in the design. The hull shape was radically changed, the deck was low and sleek, and yet the interior provided even more room than the previous Gemini models.

In considering what elements of the boat to improve, the focus continued to be primarily on the function of the boat. "We're not building a heavy displacement monohull with 24 coats of lacquer that can't get out of it's own way in 10 knots" says Smith. "Enormous amounts of thought have gone into giving the best performance and functionality which happens to go hand-in-hand with simplifying production and keeping the costs down."

Given that the Gemini's primary market sails the East coast of America, the new Gemini was designed to provide the best shallow draft sailing in relatively light air so common from Maine to Florida. “The idea of going 4 and 5 knots for the majority of the sailing season just doesn’t excite me,” says Smith. It seems unfathomable to Smith that sailors would want to spend time on a slow boat that requires a good bit of attention to just avoid running aground. “Even when the wind picks up, these boats (monohulls) are still constrained to within a narrow range of performance. What I want is something that’s light, lively, and is capable of delivering exhilaration,” says Smith.

Toward delivering just such a design, Smith started with the hull shape of the new Gemini. “I considered the best shapes found on performance-oriented monohulls. A 9:1 length to beam ratio would enable more speed and better load-capacity,” says Smith. “The shallow, flat shape also moved the hulls outward for better stability.” Just as important as speed and stability, windward ability was high on Smith’s list of essentials.

To improve upon the windward sailing of the Gemini, Smith constructed asymmetrically-shaped, lifting centerboards that tucked into a case built into the hulls. The boards would extend down 5’6” and provide measurable lift to windward so that the new Gemini was sailing to within 30˚ of the apparent wind. Smith often describes his design efforts as “greedy on function,” so the performance benefits of the centerboards had to also include the functional benefits of being able to kick up in shallow water. The same is true of the lifting, underhung rudders.

With this in mind, Smith took on cutting the weight out of the interior of the boat. The interior of the previous Gemini consisted of six separate liners for areas such as the dinette, galley, master stateroom, etc. The new Gemini interior would consist of a single, super-light liner encompassing just about every aspect of the accommodations. The head, navigation, aft cabins, dinette, galley, and master stateroom are all part of this single liner. To further simplify the build process, the main electrical and plumbing harness would be attached to the liner so that, once in place, no hoses or electrical wires would have to be run.

The challenge of creating such a complicated mold was enormous. "As the plug was being built, there were serious doubts whether such a complicated set of angles would ever consistently release this enormous liner at rate of once per week." In the end, it worked and with a consistent set of procedures associated with the new mold, it's been in continuous production for over 5 years.

The Ultimate Test

Having successfully designed and introduced the new 105M, Smith considered his best method of thoroughly testing the design would be a trans-Atlantic crossing over the Northern route. Although the Gemini is not marketed as a blue water sailor, Smith was eminently confident in the design and could think of no reason not to show off what the boat was capable of. So, in June of 2001 Smith selected a stock Gemini 105M off the line and began provisioning for a crossing from Annapolis to Southampton. The 3400-mile trip would take Smith and his son, Neil, south of Nova Scotia, over the Grand Banks, and on to the southern tip of England.

Part of the reason Smith chose the Northern route was to test the load-carrying capability of the new design. The weight of provisions for a month long continuous trip are considerably more than the weight savings that could be achieved by island-hopping through Bermuda and the Azores. What’s more, the boat was loaded down with considerably more weight than any average owner would consider carrying. A quick inventory included 70 gallons of diesel, 60 gallons of water, $700 worth of food, life raft, solar panel, loads of spares, communications, and emergency equipment.

The trip certainly provided the thorough test Smith was looking for. Early stages of the trip involved extensive motoring which helped Smith in evaluating the powering aspect of the new design. The new model Gemini provided an enclose-able cockpit which provided critical comfort which cut down on fatigue as the boat made it’s way through the chilly, fog-laden Grand Banks. The biggest test came in the form of two monstrous gales that included force 9 winds and 20’ breaking waves in between 60’ crests.

Through the worst of the first storm, the Gemini had a double reef in the genoa and main sail. “With the steepness of the waves, I was initially afraid to go dead downwind,” says Smith. “I tried quartering the seas but after a few waves broke near the boat, I plucked up my courage and went straight down my first wave. Gravity pulled the boat to 14 knots. At this point I knew the hull shapes were perfect,” says Smith. “The boat was perfectly steerable at any speed, with no tendency to dig at the bottom of a wave. We put the centerboards down just a little to act as brakes. For three hours until it got dark, we simply steered away from trouble. At times we reached 16 knots,” says Smith.

The situation grew more challenging after the sun went down. “We could no longer see the waves. In fact, in pitch blackness with the seas tossing the boat in every direction, it was near impossible to know which way was up,” says Smith. The main compass simply spun like a top and the apparent wind reading didn’t work because of the boat’s rapid acceleration in the waves. The only tool for manually steering the boat was the wind direction set to true. “After awhile, fatigue set in and I found it impossible to steer so I switched on the autopilot,” says Smith. “The fluxgate compass for the autopilot is located in the most stable part of the boat so that the autopilot could just straighten the boat up as we careened off down a wave, before we reached the trough.”

Smith describes his decision whether or not to use a sea anchor through the worst of the storm. “Four days in a force 9 with normal seas, a sea anchor would be fine if we wanted to stop the boat because of crew fatigue. However, in the conditions we had the wind wasn’t strong enough for a sea anchor. The energy in those waves would have done us serious damage.”

Smith goes on to describe that in the worst of the gale, no small sailboat could have survived. Not once did we reach the point that we were on the brink of capsize,” says Smith. “We never buried the bow or had water seriously on the foredeck. We never took serious water on the transom. I felt these were probably the conditions that had capsized several lightweight racing trimarans. A slow monohull would be in serious difficulty because it could not get out of the way of the breaking waves.”

Having successfully completed the voyage in 24 days, Smith returned home to reflect on any changes he would now make to the new Gemini design. Smith explains that the 14’ Gemini beam did not seem to be a problem. The seas acted on both hulls without causing the Gemini to heel. The fast hull shape and low center of gravity kept the boat out of trouble and she “seemed to be glued to the water,” says Smith.

The new cockpit enclosure proved critical for such a trip. Inside the enclosure, the wind and wave noise were dramatically reduced. There was no driving spray. During the day the sun warmed the enclosure. Throughout most of the storms, Smith and his son, Neil, sat at the helm in jeans and sweater without even needing full foul weather gear.

Given this ultimate test of the Gemini, the changes Smith decided to make involved finding ways to lighten the design even more. Materials and construction techniques throughout the boat were re-evaluated for weight savings and function. Otherwise, Smith was pleased with just about every aspect of the rig, hull shape, accommodation, and design.

The Future of Gemini and Performance Cruising

Since 2001, Smith and Performance Cruising have continued to expand while tweaking the Gemini design with more and improved options. The factory continues to operate at a rate of a Gemini per week and employs over 50 workers who produce the Gemini as well as the new Telstar 28 Trimaran. In September of 2007, the factory took a few minutes to stop work in recognition of the launching of Gemini 105Mc Hull 1000. Everyone in the factory took part in a brief ceremony as Gemini hull #1000 officially launched into the waters of Back Creek on the Chesapeake Bay.

At about that time, the factory invited Gemini owners around the world to help celebrate the occasion by sharing their Gemini photos and experiences - many of which are available on the company web site. “The camaraderie, guidance, and social aspects of the Gemini Gems owners association is a great bonus that comes along with owning a Gemini,” says Tony.

“Our plan is to not stray too far from our original strategy,” says Tony. “Few companies can operate on the margins Performance Cruising does, yet this is exactly what has enabled us to remain in business this long. It’s really quite simple: build a great design for a price that more people can afford. Customers who recognize that strategy appreciate the value built into their boat and are some of our best advocates.”

In addition to Tony Smith, the factory is operated by wife Susan Smith, son Neil Smith, and daughter and son-in-law Laura and Will Hershfeld. Doug Anderson manages the Gemini glass shop and Matt Jones operates as production coordinator on the assembly line.