A Newick Somersault 26 (or Summer Salt 26 or Outrigger 26) by Mitchell Hay
I co-own a Somersault (named “Seraphim”) with Bill Doelger, an experienced racer of Newick Tris. It's a 1990 model hull, #10 of 12 or 13 made before the small company (Outrigger Co.) that made them stopped building in the early `90's. I'm biased, of course, but I think my Somersault 26 is the prettiest small tri design on the water.
We bought it on Ebay three years ago and have been slowly fixing/replacing old stuff.
She doesn't fold, but goes together like a Tinkertoy, with the Mastodon-tusk shaped akas fitting into sockets in the amas and main hull. Only the shrouds and trampoline hold them in (which keeps it a strictly coastal cruiser for me– there is no redundancy.)
It's a four-hour process to assemble/break down. I'd hate to do more than once a year.
She is graceful and very fast on the water. The amas flex with every wave, giving it the feel of a living creature.
A yellow one is for sale in Florida for $29,500. They very seldom come on the market, and I don't know how many of the original dozen still exist. The mold was chopped and shortened by the former owner of the Tremolino Co. to create a 25 ft folding Trem big brother.
Dick Newick very generously sent me some of the original drawings of the boat (called Summer-Salt in the drawings.) It became Somersault the first couple years of production; then, changed it to Outrigger 26. I think the total run was only three years, maybe four.
Small Boat Journal did a comparison in 1989 of two Newicks (Argonauta and Somersault/Outrigger), the F-27, Dragonfly, and its cousin, Firefly. Very informative article, and helped me in my decision-making. Here is the link to the Somersault 26 article.
Peace,
Mitchell Hay
A few pictures of Seraphim anchored off Valcour Island on Lake Champlain. (click on the images to see them in full size)
found on blog page by Joe Farinaccio … the “Small Tri Guy”
found on YachtWorld.com: Year: 1986, Located In Melbourne, FL:
