CATAMARAN' (Fr. catamaron, Hind. kat maran, :\lalayalam kettamarain. logs bound to gether. from ketta, binding, from kal'1:a. to hind maram, timber). In its original form, a craft consisting of three logs—the middle one being longest—lashed together. It was used by the na tives of the Coromandel Coast. particularly Mad ras: also in the \Vest Indies and on the coast of South America. The Fiji Islanders developed this idea in their war-canoes. which consist of two parallel logs joined together with a plat form. on which a mast is placed. These boats are safe and very swift. having a speed of about 14 miles all hour. This, again. is surpassed by the flying proa Of the Ladrone islanders, a boat with two hulls of unequal size. The larger hull. ',Odell carries all the riging, is perfeetly flat. (a( one side and rounded on the other. On this are placed bamboo poles projeeting beyond the ronnded side. and to their ends is fastened a boat-shaped log one-half or mie-third the size of the larger hull. This prevents capsizing, as eifeetually as the Fiji double (.antic. Both end, of the proa are made and the boat is sailed with either end first : but the out-rigger is always to windward. Against a head wind the proa is kept away till the stern approaches the wind, when the yard is swung round. and what was the stern becomes the bow. Pron.; are from 40 to 65 feet long and 6 or 7 feet wide.
and are said to attain a speed of 20 miles an hour.
Double boats, or catamarans, have often been built in the United States, but have almost al ways proved very slow, because the water be tween the two bows is compressed into a nar rowing space and offers great resistanee. This defect is illustrated in the En 2:1k11 t Will-SIP:1111er VOU/ia, which, in spite of her great engine power, was a slow boat. Another example of the steam catamaran is the Henry Long fcllow, built about 1880. Two iron cylinders 200 feet long. shaped like cigars, sharp at both ends, were fastened to each other at a distance of 9 feet. On them rested a deck 12.5 feet long,
like a ferryboat. She could carry 475 passen gers. had 500 horsepower, a displacement of 75 tons, and her entire weight was only 43 tons. In 1876 the Amaryllis was designed and built by Herresholf. She consisted of two slen der tubes connected by cross-beams loosely fas tened together, and supporting a deck hardly more than large enough for two men. She Was entered at the Centennial Regatta, at New York, and easily beat all competitors, but was ruled out dm account of her construction. In spite of her great speed, she was very uncomfortable and very unsafe. In 1877 DerreshotT patented a donlde-hulled boat combining the greatest sta bility with the least weight. The hulls were united by ball-and-socket joints. which obviated the unevenness in position of the two hulls in a rough sea, and were set 16 feet apart, each hav ing a centre-board and rudder. The boat had a sloop rig, and with a strong wind abeam and a smooth sea made 20 miles an hour. Many cata marans have been built since, but generally with rigid connections, and prove unsatisfactory in rough water. In a racing eatamaran 25 feet long, the proportion is one foot canvas to eight pounds of water displacement. This shows the sailing powers of the catamaran. If in con struction iron cylinders were used, in shape like the hulls of the flying pron. and placed with the flat sides toward each other, great speed would be secured with safety. Under proper condi tions the catamaran is well adapted to summer sailing in smooth waters, being easy to handle, fast, and safe. In the United States Navy the term catamaran is sometimes applied to the balsa (q.v.), or to a float used for the men who dean the ship's, side along the water-line.