In February, Bobby and Nat put the finishing touches on their design modifications and upgrades for the latest TRIAK trimaran sailing kayak. During March and July, Gino supervised the completion of the tooling and prototypes of the first 2010 TRIAK’s built at the Flying Eagle production facility in Hangzhou, China, and in September TRIAK’s Thayer (TR) Ridgway and Mary Ostrander are demonstrating the first boats to arrive in the US.
Before kicking off the Labor Day weekend, Ridgway and his TRIAK crew retrieved Tigershark Blue, Viper Red and Safety Yellow TRIAKs from the customs clearing facility in San Diego. In less than an hour the colorful TRIAKs were car-topped and assembled so that multi-boating and active lifestyle enthusiasts could experience the fun and excitement of kayaking and sailing this new expedition sailing craft off of Fiesta Island in Mission Bay. Seasoned sailors enjoyed hoisting the TRIAK’s spinnaker and adventurous kayakers appreciated staying dry in the cockpit while paddling. There was no need to wear a fitted spray skirt in Mission Bay, but there are all sorts of TRIAK accessories to make expeditions fun in more challenging conditions.
Says Ridgway of TRIAKsports, “Morrelli & Melvin helped us with the design updates of the TRIAK, but we were also looking for a new builder. They helped us with a worldwide search for the right builder. We decided to work with Flying Eagle because their production philosophy, capacity and high quality composite technology were the perfect fit for us.”
The Hangzhou Flying Eagle Boat Company builds dragon boats, Olympic rowing shells, racing and recreational kayaks and surf skis. The facility also produces the award-winning line of Leopard 38/Sunsail 384 line of catamarans. Morrelli & Melvin has helped many of its design clients bring their products closer to completion by consulting on the tooling and production processes at Flying Eagle and other facilities throughout the world.
For those of you who can’t make it to the west coast to paddle/sail a TRIAK, check out www.triaksports.com or look for TRIAK at this year’s Annapolis and Fort Lauderdale boat shows.
