Victor Tchetchet

Victor Tchetchet (June 19, 1891 – April 26, 1974) was a pioneering early modern multihull sailboat designer from Ukraine (at his birth part of the Russian Empire) who is thought to have coined the term 'trimaran',^[1] though Éric de Bisschop built a trimaran in France earlier.^{[citation needed]} He was also a landscape and portrait painter.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Born in Kyiv, Victor was inspired by South Pacific outriggers to connect two 18 ft (5.5 m) canoes to make a catamaran and enter the Kyiv Imperial Yacht Club's local races. After winning, he was disqualified.^[1]

In 1923 Tchetchet emigrated to New York City and further experimented with catamarans and trimarans.^[1] In 1945 he launched his first trimaran, of 24 ft (7.3 m) length.^[1]

Tchetchet entered the Marblehead Race Week in 1946. Despite a poor performance, his participation helped to overcome the local prejudice against multihulls after Nathanael Herreshoff's 1876 win with the catamaran Amaryllis at the New York Yacht Club's Centennial Regatta.^[1] In the same year, he established the International Multihull Boat Racing Association.^[1]

Designs

Victor Tchetchet's boat designs include the following:

T26 (trimaran) - 26 ft (7.9 m) (circa 1949)
Egg Nog (trimaran) - 24 ft (7.3 m) (circa 1955)^[1]
Egg Nog II (trimaran)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Victor Tchetchet". Multihull Maven.
^ "Brunettes are Durable". The Brockway Record. Brockway, PA. April 28, 1939. p. 2. Retrieved June 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Cleopatra". The Beatrice News. Beatrice, NB. February 9, 1945. p. 4. Retrieved June 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "From a Circus Performer to a Throne". Jackson County Banner. Brownstopwn, IN. March 7, 1945. p. 7. Retrieved June 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.