Assembly of the trimaran demonstrator ship HMS Triton is complete; it is to be launched in early May. The 98m vessel could be the prototype for an entirely new kind of warship. While the center hull is more or less conventional, two thin "outrigger" hulls to either side provide increased stability. The deck structure connecting the three hulls provides double the normal deck area (on which weapons could be installed or helicopters could land) of a conventional ship of the same displacement.--Stephen V Cole