Originally named Mango, this trailerable Farrier RF9AXT trimaran was launched in 1994 by Australian Colin Haigh, a Vancouver-based machinist. He meticulously crafted her to plan in strip plank Durakore, a balsa/mahogany hybrid material. It is covered in fiberglass and carbon fabrics laid in epoxy, and painted with aircraft LPU. These material choices make her lighter by 200 pounds, prettier, better insulated, and stiffer and quieter than its commercial cousins, the Corsair trimarans. As well, it is the “X” wide-body version, which carries weight better than the stock Corsair boats, and is also the first of the now legendary F9A series to have greater headroom, because Colin was a tall man and asked Ian Farrier to redraw it for greater standing headroom., hence the “T” designation. Like all Farrier tris, thanks to its folding crossarm structure, she spends its winter out of the water on a trailer.
The next owner , Dr Dennis Morgan of Victoria, BC, a cardiologist, influenced by the hotdog racers in the BC Multihull Society, stripped off the cruising rig and upgraded to a 4 foot longer rotating wing mast with carbon laminate sails. It had become very highly powered and almost scary to sail for Dennis, a moderate man, and consequently saw little use until purchased by its present owner, dentist Dr Peter Walford, of Hornby Island BC, in 2009. Peter had sailed 6 previous trimarans and had extensive building and liveaboard experience, and he recognized the need to civilize the boat . He set it up with proper reefing, an innovative steerable outboard motor, and crafted a beautiful wood cruising interior. This complete reimagining of the boat took a year and a half to complete. Since then there have been progressive upgrades to the cockpit and safety systems, and under her new name, Lotus, she has competed and placed well in Category 1 offshore races including Swiftsure. Most of the time she is cruising the Pacific Northwest surround her home port of Ford Cove Marina, Hornby Island, with his wife Robin, friends, kids, and occasionally a few of Peter’s 8 grandchildren aboard, gunkholing and swimming off the comfortable aft swim steps. She goes 13 knots to windward, 16 reaching, and 20 downwind under spinnaker. Also, thanks to some clever propellor tweaks and the wide-body easy-planing hull, Lotus motorsails to 13 knots, making her a long-legged inshore cruiser that suits the Pacific Northwest perfectly. A bulkhead heater and solar powered 12V fridge complement the three-burner galley for excellent creature comfort into the cooler shoulder seasons of our region.