I just received these latest photos the other day from Philip Le Maitre, who has recently completed a new Tiki 26 in Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. Phil has sent me construction photos a couple of times in the past few months. He's done an amazing job of the build and has completed it in just 12 months. He's not a newcomer to building Wharram cats, however, having built a Tiki 21 in 1984 and then a Tiki 31 in 1990. He says he never really got on with the Tiki 31 and eventually sold her, owning a few monohulls before missing Tikis again and picking up another secondhand Tiki 21.
Phil told me he always wanted a Tiki 26, seeing it as the ideal size and tried to find a used one to buy but with no luck, went ahead and built it from scratch. Judging by these photos, I think he made the right decision. This is inspiration to me, as I slog on through the endless epoxy fillets in the interior of my second hull and look forward to better boatbuilding weather.
I really like the paint job on this one too - it reminds me of the first Wharram I built - my Hitia 17, Segundo Vez which I painted with the same color scheme. He named his new boat Scooby, obviously after the cartoon character as seen on the graphic below. I'm looking forward to seeing Scooby launched, and hopefully receiving more photos once Phil is sailing.
Here you can see the large, open cockpit. Phil elected to install the outboard on a bracket behind the aft beam, giving even more clear space in the cockpit.
Dear Scott: I'm building a Woods 27 foot catamaran, bue I've always been interested in Wharram cats, especially the Tiki 31. I've always admired Phillip's "Tiki Sunrise", and building a Tiki 31 after finishing this one, is a possibility. That's why it made me very curious to see that Le Maitre wasn't happy with his T31 and built a T26. Do you know exactly why? It would be very important to me to know the answer to this before any future decision.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Héctor.
Hi Héctor,
ReplyDeleteI like the Tiki 31 a lot too, and asked Le Maitre the same question. If I recall correctly, his main reason was that he most often sails singlehanded, and the Tiki 31 with its larger size and schooner rig was much more difficult for him to handle solo.
I like Richard Wood's designs as well. Which 27-footer are you building?
Scott: Thanks for your answer. I imagined that could be the reason, because I've been reading about it for years, and no other reason would come to my mind. That wouldn't be a problem for me, as I have 60 cousins, 4 children, and several friends waiting for me to finish the boat to start cruising!
ReplyDeleteI'm building the SurfSong, a 27 foot catamaran. You can see it here: http://www.navigare.com.ar/construccion_catamaran_27pies_english.html . But I always think: "After finishing, what next?". For now, a modified T31 (closing it's open cockpits) is my main candidate.
Best regards.