James Wharram Designs

Unique sailing catamarans, self-build and professional built boats of distinction..

Index of Designs

[View]

Wharram's Flagship The Spirit of Gaia, a Pahi 63 self-built by James Wharram

"A Wharram can be built in 130 hours - or you can indulge four years of your life into one."

You just need
the passion.

James Wharram self-build boat design plans.

The Wharram Design Book reviews each Self-build boat model and offers a detailed introduction and understanding of the world of self-build catamarans.

You can build a Wharram with very little experience. The Building Plans present quality instruction, guidance and advice for both novice and professional alike.

Classic Designs

The early 'Wharrams', now known as the Classic Designs, are recognised as beautiful, safe boats - easy to build, and easy to sail. Many anchorages around the world are graced by these Classic Designs, and of the 17 drawn between 1957 and 1976, 9 are still available...

MAUI

HINEMOA

TANENUI

TANGAROA MK IV

RAKA
ARIKI

NARAI MK I & II

NARAI MK IV

TEHINI

A philosophic attitude behind the Wharram designs is that "urban man" can, with a little financial saving and some handcraft work, create an object of beauty. This object of beauty can then, for a period of hours, days, weeks or months, carry him/her out of the urban world into a natural never-never land; the seas and oceans; to a time when the world was young; when Mankind was directly and intimately interacting with the beauty and power of nature. There are hundreds/thousands of Wharram builders or, as I prefer to call them, "Sea People", who have done or are now doing that!"

James Wharram

Self Build Catamarans

Everything you need to build your own sea-going catamaran.

Choose your design
Purchase the plans
Join the Wharram self-build community
Build the boat of your dreams

..and sail it

Professionally built Catamarans

Tiki 8M

Tama Moana

Pahi 52

Islander 55

Islander 65

The HITIA 14 and 17

Both the 14' and 17' HITIA can be carried on the roof of a car to be simple assembled at the waters edge. Designed for 2-4 people to cruise estuaries, on lakes and, when the weather is settled, to go coastal trekking. The HITIA will sail straight off the beach. The 17' with it's Kayak style hulls offers far greater storage space and a Standard igloo tent fits the central platform.

Pahi 63 - the Spirit of Gaia, James Wharram self-built flagship.

Wharram Shop

Shopping cart

View your shopping cart.

Self-build Ethnic Designs.

The MELANESIA - outrigger, uses two sheets of ply for the main canoe hull. You can build a Menanesia in your garage over a few weekends.

TAHITI WAYFARER - Ancient sailing experience, enhanced through direct contact with wind and wave - no rudder, just a steer-board paddle and a Crab claw Rig. Can be towed by car.

TAMA MOANA - the "Child of the Sea" - is the design used for the Tikopia Canoe Project - Lapita Voyage. It is a pure Ethnic Design based on the canoes of Anuta. Due to its simplicity this design is also a very economical boat to have ready-built.

Self-build boats - Tiki Range

From the car trailable TIKI 21 - Winner of the 1982 Cruising World Design Competition, to the TIKI 46, a spacious ocean cruiser or charter boat.

The TIKI range offers car trailable Coastal Trekkers to long term live aboards. On the larger TIKIs the 'Deckpod' offers sheltered steering and the 'Stern Ramp' provides easy access to and from the water. The TIKIs are boats you can work and live on.

All TIKI building Plans are very detailed, supplying a building sequence as a book of 3-D sketches, which some builders have described as a course in boat building.

The Wharram approach goes beyond simple boat design - the concept of 'Flexispace' puts emphasis on not just the physical living area, but also the ' mind space' of those on board.

Self-build boats - Pahi range

From the Coastal Trekking PAHI 26 to the impressive 63' flagship of the Wharram fleet 'Spirit of Gaia' - the PAHI shape is more evocatively 'Female' than the Classic Wharram designs.

Constructively, they are simpler to build, using epoxy fillets instead of more difficult wood joints. They are designed to use quick growing softwood plys, coated and glassed with epoxy to achieve a durable finish.

The PAHI designs were the first to use rope lashings to attach the crossbeams, giving a shock absorbing effect, without the need for metal fittings.

The PAHI 42 'Captain Cook' design set fresh ocean cruising standards when she was designed in 1979.

The PAHI 63 was designed in 1986 and launched in 1992 to become the new ocean going flagship for the Wharram family. During the construction of 'Spirit of Gaia' many unique new solutions to plywood and epoxy building methods were developed, which were later incorporated in the larger TIKI and ISLANDER designs.

First expedition with two traditional sailing double canoes following the migration route of the Ancient Polynesians.
This voyage in the Pacific was sailed in two Tama Moana designs by James Wharram and Hanneke Boon in 2008-2009.