Catamaran

Catamarans were invented by the Austronesian peoples, and enabled their expansion to the islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Catamarans typically have less hull volume, smaller displacement, and shallower draft (draught) than monohulls of comparable length. The word "catamaran" is derived from the Tamil word, kattumaram, which means "logs bound together" and is a type of single-hulled raft made of three to seven tree trunks lashed together. Early researchers like Heine-Geldern (1932) and Hornell (1943) once believed that catamarans evolved from outrigger canoes, but modern authors specializing in Austronesians now believe it to be the opposite. The first documented example of the unusual design of a catamaran is William Petty's 1662 sailing craft, which was designed by William Petty in Europe in 1662 to sail faster in wind, shallower in waters with fewer shallower wind, and with fewer crew. The structure connecting the two hulls ranges from a simple frame strung with webbing to support the crew to a bridging superstructure.