Windrider 17 Trimaran

Description

The Windrider 17 Trimaran is a user-friendly, family-oriented daysailer/trimaran designed by Jim Brown (in collaboration with the Windrider team) and introduced in 2002. It was built by Windrider (USA) using rotomolded polyethylene construction for the main hull and amas (outriggers), with telescoping aluminum crossbeams that allow the sailing beam to expand for stability while reducing to legal trailering width. Production ran from 2002 until around 2020 (with some interruptions due to corporate changes), and company records indicate approximately 800 hulls sold, making it a successful evolution of the smaller Windrider 16. The boat prioritizes extreme stability (nearly uncapsizable under normal conditions), ease of use for beginners and families, and "armchair sailing" via innovative foot-pedal steering in dual cockpits, wave-piercing bows, a fixed shallow unballasted keel, and a rotating spar on a fractional sloop rig (mainsail standard; optional jib or reacher). It features trampolines for extra seating, quick assembly/disassembly, and rotomolded durability with low maintenance, supporting up to 800 lb capacity for 3–6 people on coastal or protected waters.