Victor Tchetchet ~ Pin-up Art

Tchetchet [1891-1974] was one the earliest pioneers of the modern multihull; he also said to have coined the word 'trimaran'. He was born in Kiev, Ukraine and in 1923 became a Russian émigré living in New York. While still in the Ukraine he was building boats and, inspired by South Pacific outriggers, connected two 18 ft (6.3 m) canoes to make a catamaran.
He entered the Kiev Imperial Yacht Club's local races, but was disqualified after beating all other boats. After emigrating to the United States he experimented with catamarans and trimarans, his first trimaran, 24 ft (7.3 m), being launched in 1945. In 1946 he entered the Marblehead Race Week, and though he did not perform well in the race, he overcame the prejudice against multihulls that arose against Herreshoff's AMARYLLIS in 1876 when he beat the fleet at the New York Yacht Club's Centennial Regatta. Victor Tchetchet's best known design was the 24 ft (7.3 m) EGG NOG. He established the International Multihull Boat Racing Association in 1946.