Design and Construction
Corsair's proprietary folding system is the heart of the 880's utility, letting an owner deploy or retract the amas in as little as a minute and shrink the beam from 22ft 3in down to 8ft 2in for road or marina storage. The hull, deck, and amas are vacuum infused with E-glass over a PVC closed-cell core, with carbon-fiber reinforcements added where structure demands it; hull and deck mouldings similarly use a PVC foam core with epoxy-glass and carbon reinforcement. A tumblehome bow is flared to keep spray down underway, and all three hulls carry reverse-raked stems that push buoyancy forward at the waterline while helping the boat cut through waves and shed water. Until the Dragonfly 36 appeared, the 880 was almost alone in featuring triple-reverse rake. The floats are appreciably larger relative to the main hull than on trimarans designed 10 or 20 years earlier, and the main hull itself carries more beam and freeboard than the Corsair 28, the model that replaced the original F-27. A daggerboard raked well aft reduces damage risk on impact and pairs with a deep rudder blade dropping through a cassette stock that can be partially raised in shallow water.
Rig and Handling
The 880 carries a rotating carbon wing mast and an 8:1 mainsheet on a full-width traveller, with a self-tacking jib that simplifies manoeuvres. Two versions exist: the Standard with a shorter carbon mast and 554sq ft of sail area (SA/D 37), and the Sport with a taller carbon rig, laminate sails, high-aspect square-top main, and sprit pushing sail area to 677sq ft (SA/D 45). Writing in SAIL Magazine, the reviewer recorded a speed of 16.8 knots on a reach with the screecher up anchor, and writing in Yachting Monthly, the reviewer noted she will run rings around many monohulls 10ft longer, with a rating around 1.244 placing her on a par with grand prix race boats such as the Fast 40s and GP42s. For such a powerful boat she is remarkably easy to handle, though one owner who previously sailed an F-27 commented that the 880 is a more physical boat to sail.
Accommodations
Below, the 880 is a narrow but well-configured pocket cruiser with standing headroom in both the saloon and the simple galley aft to starboard. Berth space runs to as many as five: seating each side in the saloon is useable as a berth to port, a long and narrow double sits behind the companionway steps, a plumbed-in heads and V-berth occupy the bow forward of the main bulkhead, and the saloon seating is separated at its forward end by the angled daggerboard case. Above deck, a generous cockpit is made secure by coamings and a helm seat, with stainless steel-framed canvas seats each side and tiller steering via extension. Storage is practical for the size—a deck hatch in each float opens a compartment for warps and fenders, and half-depth lockers sit each side beneath the cockpit seats.
Known Issues
When the amas are left folded in a marina, the sides of the floats become immersed and will grow weed. This is a maintenance rather than structural concern, but it bears directly on how the boat should be stored when not sailing.
The Verdict
The Corsair 880 is a serious evolution of the folding trimaran idea—fast, genuinely trailerable, and capable of real overnight cruising in a 28ft 8in package. The vacuum-infused construction with carbon reinforcement, minute-fast folding, and reverse-raked hulls mark it as current-generation thinking, while the rotating wing mast and self-tacking jib keep short-handed sailing manageable despite the performance on offer.
Pros
- Folds to 8ft 2in beam and launches in about a minute for true trailerability
- Reached 16.8 knots on a reach; sails faster than many 38ft monohulls
- Standing headroom and berths for five in a legitimate pocket cruiser
- Vacuum-infused E-glass/PVC core with carbon reinforcement; large relative floats
Cons
- Floats grow weed if left folded and immersed in a marina
- More physical to sail than the earlier F-27, per one owner
- Narrow saloon and galley reflect the trailerable beam compromise
