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Bringing the second golden age of sail

Jim Brown, Multihull Pioneer

Along with his son, Russell Brown, Jim Brown is the inspiration for our Splash Project.

Well-known to the world sailing community, Jim Brown has been designing multihulls since the 1960s, following his association with designer Arthur Piver. Best known for his Searunner Trimaran series, he is also the author of several books about trimarans, along with a recent a two-book memoir, Among the Multihulls.

Starting with Dick Newick’s “Master Mold”, Jim invented the Constant Camber construction method. He has conducted boatbuilding training programs for USAID and Save the Children Foundation in Burundi, Tuvalu, and the Philippines. At the WoodenBoat School in Brooklin, Maine, Jim taught classes in constant camber construction, and built a Seaclipper 20.

In late 1990s, Jim designed the Windrider 16 and 17, both radical roto-molded sailing trimarans for Wilderness Systems. These were the first roto-molded production trimarans, and more than 3,000 of these boats have been sold. Wilderness Systems was previously known for its kayaks, but the Windrider introduced many of these kayakers to sailing in this fast, exciting design.

Jim started building multihulls in coastal California. In 1974, he and his family cruised from Santa Cruz, California for a 3½ year odyssey through Mexico and Central America aboard SCRIMSHAW, their Searunner 31 trimaran, eventually settling in Virginia where they now live.

In 1996, Jim and his wife, Joanna, returned to the sea in SCRIMSHAW, visiting the Bahamas, Cuba, and Mexico. He is currently managing the OutRig project to document the multihull history of the United States. Jim can be contacted for consulting and advisory projects at [email protected] : remove the SPAM!

Professional BoatBuilder Magazine

REIMAGINING A WORLD OF TECHNICAL BOATBUILDING ON DEMAND

The Voice of Multihull Pioneer Jim Brown

By Dan Spurr , Jul 10, 2017

No, the famed multihull designer and builder won’t be appearing on the popular television show anytime soon, but you can hear him tell seafaring tales on a growing series of recorded podcasts and videos.

By way of background on Jim Brown, he gained attention in the 1950s by building an Arthur Piver–designed trimaran and cruising it extensively. This formed the basis of his series of Searunner trimaran designs, which were intended for home construction in plywood. To advance his affection for multihulls he wrote several books, including The Case for the Cruising Trimaran and Among the Multihulls . He also helped develop the Constant Camber method of hull construction, in which identical plywood panels are formed over a mold by gluing precut strips of wood veneer, similar to cold-molding. Brown exported his methods to developing countries to help fishermen build simple working watercraft. So you might say he’s seen a thing or two. Search the PBB online index for articles with his byline, the most recent of which was the Parting Shot “Foil Train Coming,” in PBB No. 156, where he shares his enthusiasm for Peter Johnstone’s large foiling G4 catamaran.

Jim Brown aboard the  Scrimshaw . This screenshot was taken from a video he narrates about living aboard his famous Searunner trimaran.

The most recent of Brown’s 30 podcasts, posted on outrigmedia.com is titled “Stranded on a What?!” The 28-minute yarn recounts a 1981 cruise aboard his and his wife Jo Anna’s trimaran Scrimshaw , in which they decide to cruise from their Virginia home to Nova Scotia. The guitar prelude and Brown’s folkie talking style reminds one of preambles by folksinger Pete Seeger. Serious fog is encountered off the coast. Wouldn’t you know, there’s a large commercial fishing fleet working the banks. And the crashing waves are indistinguishable from the sound of breakers on the treacherous rock ledges. After three days of playing cat and mouse with steel hulls, they decide to head offshore rather than make landfall. If you’ve ever been off the New England coast in fog and attempted to ascertain your position with a radio direction finder (RDF), you’ll appreciate his account of fumbling with that thankfully now-obsolete device. Before GPS, that’s all we had. Eventually Jim and Jo Anna make an anchorage in St. Margarets Bay, whereupon they meet an unusual cast of characters living in a shanty while building what’s described as a castle for the owner. As they get to know one another, of course they tell sea stories, one of which is about a man stranded on a dead whale, his boots sinking into “stinking, decomposing blubber.” Yes, you read that right.

Besides outrigmedia.com , the source of these podcasts and a place to buy books and CDs about Jim Brown and other multihullers, check out Brown’s own website at www.outrig.org , dedicated to preserving the history of mul tihulls.

Brown’s growing multimedia output also includes videos that he narrates on multihull pioneers, and a series about sailing and living aboard his famous Searunner trimaran Scrimshaw, such as the one posted above. To see a list of more videos, visit http://www.outrig.org/outrig.org/Videos.html .

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October 26, 2020

An Interview With Multihull Pioneer - Jim Brown

Jim Brown got his start designing and building sailing trimarans from friend and mentor, Arthur Piver, near Sausilito, CA in the late 1950's. Jim's foray into his career as 'trimaran test pilot' is well documented in his entertaining book, 'Among The Multihulls: Volume I'. In this Dream 10X podcast episode, however, we learn more about the story of Jim's early childhood leading up to the story in this book. I think this as-of-yet untold story of his early youth is just as fantastic and entertaining as his book!

The real skill in pioneering, as in business and life, is survival. Jim Brown, Among The Multihulls: Volume I, Pg 46

Finding Your Passion

One thing I wish I could ‘teach’ my own kids is how to find your passion in life and how to follow it. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that is something that can be taught, but it can certainly be felt and even witnessed in other people’s lives. One case in point is the life of Jim Brown. It’s not hard to look back over Jim’s life to see how his simple pursuit of his singular passion for boats and the ocean took him on extraordinary life adventures. When he essentially flunked-out of college mostly due to his poor eyesight, he decided to continue pursuing his passion for boats by heading off to Miami to jump on the schooner Janeen, which in turn led to events that positively impacted the arc of his professional and personal life.

In other words, he didn’t know what his life held for him when he dropped out of college, but he knew he had an interest in boats and the ocean so he jumped in (or on a schooner) with ‘boat’ feet not knowing where things would lead him.

One of my favorite movie quotes is from the movie ‘Cast Away:’

And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring? Chuck Noland, Cast Away

It would seem that finding your life’s passion can be rather simple. Take action and keep moving in some direction - any direction. You never know what the tide will bring!

Continuous Learning

Jim exemplifies the idea of continuous learning throughout life. Since he was a college drop-out, it is evident to see that his genius and knowledge is not a product of an institution of ‘higher’ education. In fact, it would seem to me that Jim had an adequate knowledge toolkit available to him since childhood: a burning curiosity about things, an ability to teach himself answers to his own curiosities, and simple naivety in not knowing that he could not do things others might have said were impossible. Jim’s child-like curiosity and naivety in all things nautical have allowed him to constantly innovate in his profession throughout his fascinating career, and have afforded him the relative luxury of hanging-out in metaphorical littoral zones between modern western ‘civilization’ and the ‘wilder,’ less civilized, parts of the world.

A Closer Look Into Jim’s Life Adventures

The following video contains a slide-show narrated by Jim Brown himself, which he did just for us at Dream 10X!

Relevant Links

• Jim’s G-Man Father, Ralph
• Curtis JN-4 Jenny Biplane
• Jim’s Outrig Media Project
• Jim Brown and John Marples Trimaran Plans
• Jim’s Son Russell Brown’s Website
• My Favorite Video Of A Seaclipper 20
• WindRider Trimarans
• Chesapeake Light Craft
• Race To Alaska (R2AK)
• The WoodenBoat School

James Caple 2020-10-12 BLOG podcast sailing trimaran multihull catamaran arthur piver jim brown walt glaser woody brown dick newick Chesapeake Bay Virginia environment ecology marine architecture innovation design adventure microadventure

Dialogue & Discussion

Our Mission for Preservation

This unique multihull information exists in keeping with Jim’s goals of compiling, preserving and sharing what he often refers to as “The Lore” in multihull history — especially during the 20th century. This has resulted in a wonderful little collection of timeless stories, little-known truths and still-practical information for every multihull lover.

Whether you’re attracted to catamarans, trimarans or proas, this site is made for you! 

About Jim Brown

Multihull pioneer jim brown james w. brown, marine architect, multihull pioneer, builder, sailor, teacher, author..

In the 1950s— Helped build the first large molded fiberglass boats in the U.S. Built the first modern cruising trimaran and sailed it on a 2,000-mile ocean voyage with bride Jo Anna.

In the 1960s— Designed the SEARUNNER Series of ocean cruising trimaran sailboats for amateur building. These designs attracted some 1,600 builders worldwide; several have completed world cruises.

In the 1970s— Sailed the coasts of Central and South America with family. Wrote The Case for the Cruising Trimaran published by International Marine, which sold 11,000 copies. Developed and patented the “Constant Camber” method of producing compound-curved plywood modular boat components.

In the 1980s— Transferred Constant Camber technology to peasant fishermen in several remote locations in Africa, The Philippines, and the Central Pacific Islands where it is now used to produce sophisticated working watercraft for fishing and transportation. Wrote often for the yachting press. Personal trimaran SCRIMSHAW selected by the editors of Sail as among “The 100 Greatest Sailing Yachts in North America.” Taught wood-epoxy technology at the WoodenBoat School.

In the 1990s— Inducted into the Cruising World Hall of Fame. Guest lecturer at Mystic Seaport on yachting history and at University of North Carolina for architectural seminars. Designed small multihulls for mass production in rotomolded polyethylene, thousands sold for rental and expedition service. Voyaged to Cuba. Designed several large catamaran excursion craft built with Constant Camber and certified by U.S. Coast Guard for carrying passengers on offshore routes.

In the 2000s— Recipient, award for outstanding achievement, New England Multihull Association. Co-founder, the OUTRIG! Project, “to collect, preserve and disseminate the history and lore of modern seafaring.” Seventy-five years old (2008), two grown sons (both boat designers and builders). Writes, sails, kayaks, and resides with Jo Anna, wife of forty-nine years, in rural Tidewater Virginia.

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