Design Brief & Intent
The Kraken 33 was built for one primary mission: uncompromising offshore speed. In an era when trimaran design was split between the heavy, accommodation-rich cruising designs of Jim Brown’s Searunner series and more experimental racing craft, the Kraken 33 was an unvarnished racer. With an overall beam of 23 feet, the platform prioritized a massive righting moment over interior volume. The main hull features an ultra-fine 10:1 length-to-beam ratio, while the floats (amas) are designed to provide progressive buoyancy as the boat heels.
This single-minded focus on speed dictates a highly utilitarian interior. Unlike production cruisers of the late 1960s, which featured rich teak joinery and heavy cabinetry, the Kraken 33’s cabin is a lesson in minimalism. Early home-built and semi-custom examples featured bare, painted plywood bulkheads and structural ring frames. Headroom in the main cabin ranges from minimal in early Marks to roughly six feet in later coachroof iterations. Accommodation is typically restricted to four basic berths—often consisting of a tight V-berth forward and narrow settee berths running alongside the daggerboard trunk. The galley is a simple, slide-out stove and sink arrangement, as heavy cruising gear would compromise the boat's delicate weight-sensitive trim.
Variations & Configurations
Throughout its production and amateur-construction run, the Kraken 33 underwent significant structural evolution. The early Mark I version, while exceptionally fast, revealed a critical vulnerability when the prototype capsized and failed to float high enough in the water to allow the crew to safely use the inverted hull as a survival raft. In response, Crowther and Hitch revised the design to the Mark III and Mark IV standards. These later Marks incorporated redesigned, high-volume floats with increased reserve buoyancy, structurally reinforced timber crossarms (akas), and built-in watertight survival compartments designed to remain habitable in the event of an inversion.
The vast majority of Kraken 33s were constructed using a wood-composite method: a round-bilge bottom formed from double-diagonal 3mm plywood, with 6mm sheet plywood for the topsides and floats, all sheath-wrapped in fiberglass cloth and epoxy or early polyester resin. However, some later custom builds utilized PVC foam core and fiberglass sandwich construction, which further shaved weight and eliminated the rot risks inherent in wood.
The rig was originally drawn as a highly tuneable masthead sloop. However, the boat's development coincided with early experimentation in rotating mast profiles. Veteran owners frequently retrofitted rotating wing masts to clean up the aerodynamics of the mainsail's leading edge, transforming the boat from a fast cruiser-racer into a pure high-performance rocket.
Sailing Performance & Handling
The sailing characteristics of the Kraken 33 are defined by its astonishingly low displacement of 4,000 pounds paired with a powerful, high-aspect rig. With an astronomical sail area-to-displacement (SA/Disp) ratio of 31.24, the boat is incredibly responsive, accelerating in light air that would leave modern performance monohulls becalmed. The displacement-to-length (Disp/LWL) ratio of 66.14 places it firmly in the ultralight category, enabling the hulls to easily break free of their bow waves and plane. In flat water and a fresh breeze, the Kraken 33 is capable of sustaining speeds in the high teens, with documented peaks exceeding 20 knots downwind.
At the helm, the boat feels more like a high-performance beach catamaran than an offshore cruiser. The helm is light and precise, and the boat heels only slightly before the leeward float digs in and transfers the wind's energy into pure forward acceleration. However, this performance comes with a low comfort ratio of 3.08. In a choppy seaway, the motion of the light, stiff trimaran is highly active, with quick vertical accelerations and a tendency to slap when transitioning through head seas. The capsize screening ratio of 5.8 is mathematically high—a figure that would suggest extreme instability in a monohull—but in a multihull context, it reflects the ultimate reality of a wide, unballasted platform: stability is dynamic, and safe operation relies on a vigilant crew who are quick to ease sheets or reef when wind speeds climb.
Upwind performance is exceptionally sharp due to the deep daggerboard, which drops down to draw up to 6 feet. With the daggerboard fully retracted, the draft is reduced to just over 1.5 feet, allowing the boat to navigate extremely shallow bays or slide onto a sandy beach for maintenance.
Known Issues & Triage
Because almost all Kraken 33s were built by amateur or semi-professional yards from plans, construction quality varies wildly. Any prospective buyer must treat the boat as a custom wooden structure unless a foam-core layup is definitively proven.
- Plywood and Core Rot: The single most critical threat to a classic Kraken 33 is freshwater intrusion leading to dry rot within the plywood skin, deck frames, and bulkheads. Areas around the chainplates, deck hardware, and the joints where the cabin trunk meets the deck must be thoroughly sounded with a fiberglass hammer and checked with a moisture meter.
- Crossbeam (Aka) Delamination & Fatigue: The Kraken 33’s crossarms are designed as hollow plywood box beams reinforced with heavy timber flanges. In the early designs, these beams connected to the floats via aluminum struts or "stilts". The interfaces where these aluminum struts bolt through the wooden structure are high-stress areas prone to water intrusion, wood crush, and structural fatigue. Inspections must target any signs of flexing, cracked epoxy joints, or corrosion in the aluminum connectors.
- Daggerboard Trunk Weakness: The high lateral loads generated when sailing hard on a breeze can stress the joints where the daggerboard trunk integrates into the keel structure and cabin sole. Hairline cracks or water weeping around the base of the trunk indicate structural movement that requires glass-reinforcement and tabbing repairs.
- Daggerboard Exit Blockage: In some owner-built hulls, the daggerboard cannot be removed from the top of the trunk due to deck modifications or cockpit overhangs, forcing owners to haul the boat and drop the board out of the bottom for maintenance.
The Verdict
The Kraken 33 is not a boat for those seeking a floating condominium or a leisurely, hands-off cruising experience. It is a historic, thoroughbred racer designed for sailors who appreciate the mechanical feedback of a responsive, ultralight multihull. For the right owner, it offers a level of speed and pure sailing joy that very few boats of its era—or ours—can match.
Pros
- Exceptional light-air performance and top speeds exceeding 20 knots.
- Extremely shallow draft with the daggerboard raised, allowing for beaching and thin-water cruising.
- Stiff, level sailing posture compared to heavily heeling monohulls.
- Historic Lock Crowther pedigree that commands respect among multihull purists.
Cons
- Utilitarian, cramped interior with minimal comfort and limited headroom.
- Highly active, jerky motion in choppy head seas.
- High structural risk of wood rot in older, plywood-built models.
- Requires vigilant, active sail management to avoid over-canvasing in heavy weather.
