Victor Tchetchet

Victor Tchetchet (June 19, 1891 – April 26, 1974) was a pioneering early modern multihull sailboat designer from Ukraine (at his birth part of the Russian Empire) who is thought to have coined the term 'trimaran',[1] though Éric de Bisschop built a trimaran in France earlier.

[2][3][4] Born in Kyiv, Victor was inspired by South Pacific outriggers to connect two 18 ft (5.5 m) canoes to make a catamaran and enter the Kyiv Imperial Yacht Club's local races.

[1] In 1923 Tchetchet emigrated to New York City and further experimented with catamarans and trimarans.

Despite a poor performance, his participation helped to overcome the local prejudice against multihulls after Nathanael Herreshoff's 1876 win with the catamaran Amaryllis at the New York Yacht Club's Centennial Regatta.

[1] In the same year, he established the International Multihull Boat Racing Association.