The First U.S. Built Wharram Tiki 8-Meter

David Halladay and the Boatsmith crew have launched the first of two foam-core/fiberglass composite Wharram Tiki 8-Meter catamarans they have contracted to build for a south Florida resort as day-charter boats.

These first two boats are modified from the orginal design to suit the needs of the charter company, hence the extra aft beam and aft steering station that gets the helmsman out of the cockpit and frees up more space for the guests.  You can see this modification by clicking on the photo above to enlarge it. 

The other significant modification is the rig, which replaces the Tiki gaff wingsail main with a fully-battened, loose-footed main with a boom.  David says this configuration offers many more options for adjusting sail trim, as well as provides a larger sail area for light air, which is an important consideration for the variable light-air conditons typical of Florida's Gulf Coast.  The jib is equipped with roller-furling.   With this rig, both main and jib are easily furled and put away.

David is extremely pleased with how the boat sails.  The video below should explain why.  Look at it go in barey a puff of wind!

David and the crew trailered the boat fully assembled (with a wide-load escort) from the shop to the public boat launch at Burt Reynold's Park, on the Intracoastal Waterway.  Compared to the Tiki 30, it was quick and easy to launch, and he says that stepping the aluminum mast was much easier as well.

Beaching is a snap.  Note the kick-up rudders - another modification required by the charter company.  The crossbeams are composite foam core/glass as well, making them much lighter than standard Tiki beams of wood and glass. 

Although many builders, myself included, prefer the character that wood construction gives and the easier one-off building process, David expects that customers looking to purchase a finished boat will really like the low-maintenance of these composite Tiki 8-Meter cats.  This is an ideal sized boat in so many ways for so many things, which is exactly why I chose the Tiki 26, the wood composite version, for my personal boat to build. 

For more info contact David Halladay through his website:  http://www.boatsmithfl.com/ 

Boatsmith's Tiki 30 Launched at the Mystic Wooden Boat Show

Below: David Halladay aboard his Pro-Built Tiki 30 at the Mystic Wooden Boat Show this past weekend. Click on the image for a larger view:

(photo from the Wooden Boat Forum)

My friend David Halladay has completed his first Wharram catamaran project, the Tiki 30 that I've mentioned here before and that I have written about in his Pro-Built Tiki 30 blog. I've also taken part in some of the construction of this boat on two separate trips to his shop in Jupiter, Florida, building the mast on my last trip in April. I was not able to help in the final two weeks, as I could not get away to go back to Florida, but with a final push of working 12 and 14 hour days, 7 days per week, David and his crew just managed to put all the final pieces together in time to attend the Mystic Wooden Boat Show.

One reason they worked so hard at it is that James Wharram himself, along with co-designer Hanneke Boone, was present at this year's show. James was an honored guest and speaker as one of several multihull pioneers featured this year. David called me Friday night to tell me that James and Hanneke had been aboard the Tiki 30 for a long visit. Our new acquaintance, designer Reuel Parker, also showed up on Friday, and needing a place to crash, spent the night on David's Tiki 30. He was gone the next morning, so I wonder what he thought of the accommodations. Maybe David will fill me in later when I hear from him again. I'm sure he's on the road today, making the long trip back to south Florida with the Tiki 30 in tow. I regret that I missed the opportunity to make it to the show and meet James Wharram, but hopefully there will be other chances. I spent the time over the weekend working on my own Tiki 26, and progress has been good in the long days of early summer.

Tiki 26 Launched in the Channel Islands

Just a little over a month ago I posted photos here of Philip Le Maitre's recently completed Wharram Tiki 26 - the same design I am currently building for my own use. Phil has since launched his boat, and yesterday sent me these photos of Scooby taken on launch day. He said everything about the first assembly of the demountable catamaran went like clockwork and was completed in two hours. His launching location has a much greater tide range than my home waters here on the Gulf of Mexico. Here the boat is assembled on the hard and waiting for the returning tide.

The happy owner/builder with his latest creation. Phil has also built a Tiki 21 and a Tiki 31. He completed this Tiki 26 in less than a year.

A couple of nice shots from above with the catamaran afloat. When he sent me these photos yesterday, he had yet to test the boat under sail, but said that it motored easily at 7 knot at just one third throttle on the Yamaha 8 hp, 4-stroke outboard. I'll look forward to hearing sailing reports from him soon, as he has launched just in time for a full season of good sailing ahead, and has chosen a fantastic design to build and sail. Congratulations, Phil! I hope Scooby meets all your expectations and more.

New Tiki 26 in the Channel Islands

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.

Wharram Child of the Sea "Manurere"

(photos courtesy of Bill Barker, who attended the launching)

One of James Wharram's newer catamaran designs, the ethnic "double canoe" he calls Tama Moana, or "Child of the Sea" was launched recently near Santa Barbara, California. Here's Wharram's description of the design:

The Child of the Sea has the traditional hullshape of the islands of Tikopia and Anuta. She is built in strip planking over plywood backbone and bulkheads. She is steered with side rudders. Ethnic Designs as Canoe Craft have a basic design principle of maximum boat for minimum cost, and at the same time be a research participant in a major attempt to recover and preserve the practical, design, handling aspects of Man's first offshore sailing vessels.

Length Overall:
37' 9"
11.5 m
Beam Overall:
14' 11 "
4.55 m
Weight:
3.525 ton
1600kg

Glenn Tieman, the builder is a long-time Wharram catamaran enthusiast and experienced sailor. His first Wharram catamaran was the Pahi 26 design, which he built himself and sailed all over the south Pacific, living aboard it for 10 years. Glenn is definately a minimalist who appreciates the simplicity and function of Wharram's designs, so the Tama Moana design with its traditional crab claw rig and spartan accomodations is right in line with his needs as an adventurous sailor who will soon set off to return to the Pacific islands on his new boat. He has christened his vessel "Manurere," Maori for "Bird on the Wing."

Glenn is to be commended for building such a fine example of the Tama Moana, and for having the courage to sail in a simple, yet seaworthy craft that is so far outside the mainstream of modern yachting. I wish him fair winds, following seas, and beautiful anchorages among the lonely atolls of Oceania.

Here's some more background info about the Tama Moana project from James Wharram's site:

http://www.wharram.com/lettermarch06.htm

(This article was first published on Island Time Online, 10-18-2006)