Seaworthiness of various Wharram's and Advice

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Anonymous (not verified)
Seaworthiness of various Wharram's and Advice
Dear All, My Name is Tom and i am planning to build a Wharram. I am writing to you on the forum for advice from current Wharram sailors. I am a large yacht captain and have decided to spend my next 2/3 winter seasons building myself a yacht so that in the near future i can embark on my dream of cruising worldwide. Having sailed many thousands of miles in various large proffessionally built monohulls and multihulls, and having been taken to windward by a Tiki 26 in the carribean, i have decided that one of J.W's designs would suit my needs.I am also a farily simple lad and have no real need for a prduction line multihull from the likes of catana or fountaine pajot. Having done as much research as i can do i am still undecided as to which design would suit my needs best, which is why i NEED YOUR ADVICE... Building is new for me, i have project managed builds but never really built, however i do know some shipwrights so the expertise needed for the various designs is close at hand. What i do want to know is specifically which designs are the most seaworthy, comfortable and would be most suited to the route of Meditteranean-Atlantic-Carribean-East coast of South America-Chile and Patagonia-Galapagos and then S.Pacific before heading home to Spain via the Asia's... So basically mostly Tropical sailing although i would love to head south of 40oS (have wharram designs been there???) I have been particularly drawn to the Tiki38, due to the 'dog house' which for me is ideal as i like to sail solo, and to have somewhere to sleep off watch without going a hull is a great design. But on the Pahi42 there is also a dog house, but i really like the flexibility allowed by the ketch rig of the '38. As you can probably tell i would like something around 35-45ft but really the smaller and more seaworthy the better.... Any advice from the people who have been there and done it would be so welcome. Regards Tom
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Seaworthiness of various Wharram's and Advice
Hi Tom Welcome to the world of Wharrams! I spent a long time thinking about the same issues before embarking on the build of my own Tiki 38. This design is, I think, the pinnacle of JW's designs and has the perfect balance of cost, accommodation, ease of build and of course sea-worthiness, then again I admit to some bias! Check out my website for plenty of info about building a Tiki 38 and links to others already out there sailing them. Don't hesitate to give me a shout if you want any more info about building. Cheers
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Seaworthiness of various Wharram's and Advice
Hi Tom, It's always exciting to hear of a little Tiki overtaking a larger, much more expensive modern boat to windward...a classic David and Goliath scenario! I'm surprised there haven't been more replies to your post; most likely those out there sailing are having too much fun to check in on this forum very often. While you are waiting to hear from those "out there doing it" you might check out the flicks on YouTube. These are very revealing concerning the relative merits of the different designs. On viewing these videos, one thing becomes very clear; all Wharrams sail well but the Tiki range represents an evolutionary leap that offers truly breathtaking performance. The main factor appears to be the soft wingsail as Tikis rigged otherwise just don't seem to deliver that same thrill level. In particular, look for the film clip of WaveDancer, a Tiki 30 (stretched to 32). This footage is almost unbelievable. Like Neil, I also chose the Tiki 38 after months of very intense information gathering. Sure, you can modify a classic with the wingsail rig, but if building from scratch why not go for the more refined Tiki design which not only has the better underwater shape but also much improved interior amenities. One thing to keep in mind is that these boats have very narrow hulls compared to the production charter type cats, so you need to go larger than you might think; for long distance voyaging the Tiki 38 is probably the practical minimum for most sailors. -Alf
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Seaworthiness of various Wharram's and Advice
I agree, although WaveDancer performs extreemly well, specially with the new roller furler, the comfort for longdistance cruising is very, very basic (I don't care, it is still much better than on a "Tama Moana" - I love this kind of Polynesian canoes - but to compare this boats would not be fair). I live for 2-3 months p.a. on the boat and plan to extend my stays and cruisingrange to 6 months p.a. soon. At the time we (Gunther Nutt - Seascape, Phuket and me) try to figure out some improovements of the Bimini to get better shelter for bad weather, spray, rain, wind and to make better use of the huge deck as a living room when on anchor etc. Needless to say all my guests on board enjoy my huge fridge and the cool Tigers after a hot day...... I should recommend the Tiki 38 as a very good "live on board" cruiser. But it is a much bigger boat compared to a Tiki 30 what means more building- and maintenance costs, more weight but also more seapower, more time consuming for repairs, but more payload (scubatanks, compressor) etc. It is always a matter of personal focus, where you cruise, number of crew, amount of comfort one expects, budget etc. the "perfect" boat does not exist... Don't forget, the boat is almost always stronger than you.... your personal abilities set the limits! All the best Wave
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Seaworthiness of various Wharram's and Advice
WaveDancer, re the lines to the bows from the masthead, are you using them as extra windward stays, or some other purpose? Absolutely beautiful sailing! Thanks for the video.
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Seaworthiness of various Wharram's and Advice
The line runing to the bows is the halyard for the freeflyer I use instead of a spinnaker. The same time they will support the mast in case the fore stay should break. Wave
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Seaworthiness of various Wharram's and Advice
hi All, Thankyou all for your replies. Its always great to hear from those who are actually sailing Tiki's. Im currently sitting on my aft deck with the 'Design Book' on the table, On my port side is the new catana 65'. Bloody hell it is a big cat. But not as big as the Polish built sunreef 100' which is just down the quay. To compare these to a wharram.........( having seen the you tube's of Wave im sure the performance of the bigger yachts isnt as good as they would like compared with the Tiki) To be honest i am now concerned that i wont be able to get much time away from the MED for at least 4/5 years so i have been looking at the Tiki 30'. I am concerned though at the interior space. Being obviously based on the canoe form there really cant be much interior volume. Although i do like to sail solo i would like to take friends on cruises, overnight. I havent got to the tiki 30 yet in the 'Design Book' which would probably answer my questions, but truthfully how comfortable is the 30' for cruising? The cheaper costs and lower build time is also a big incentive. I have to go, but fair sailing!!! Tom
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Seaworthiness of various Wharram's and Advice
Tom- Others can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Tiki 38 is the smallest Tiki with standing headroom below deck, in case that matters to you. For me, it's a pretty major factor. It's offset by the deck tent possibilities catamarans offer, though. A decent deck tent design could render a Tiki 30 (or smaller!) pretty comfy on the hook, and you're not as likely to want to be walking around below when you're under way. For a single-hander, I'm curious: why not the Tiki 31? I think the schooner rig offers a lot more sail configuration options in rough weather, and the smaller sails would be easier to handle than the one large one. It might make a nice compromise between the 30 and 38. --Rich
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Seaworthiness of various Wharram's and Advice
Hi Rich, Thanks for the advice, I think that the standing headroom issue is one to consider. But also for me is the width of the berths, that is why the 38' is so appealing. I seem however to have completely missed the 31' Tiki when starting my research. I completely agree with you on the fact that it may be a nice compromise. Also the reality is that with a well made canvas tent the deck space between the hulls could be used really well. Do you own a 31? Or a larger Wharram. I would love to hear from builders/owners of the 31to find out what they think and to find out how practical they find the cat for cruising. I'm going to keep researching. Hopefully should have the plans/materials and space etc set for Sept. this year, im getting very excited. However i am not completely off the idea of buying second hand but this also has its problems. Tom
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Seaworthiness of various Wharram's and Advice
Tom- At this point, I'm a dreamer, not an owner. I'm [b]slowly[/b] saving up for a build (or a good used Wharram, if I find one first). Given that I'm in a landlocked square state in the USA, I'm probably going to have to stick with the smaller trailerable ones - nothing bigger than a Tiki 26 (at most) would work for our situation. As for finding Tiki 31 owners to grill for info, the design seems less popular than the 38 and the smaller Tikis. I've seen relatively few 31's for sale on the used market. Scott Brown has one listed at his site for GBP8000, with a few photos (but none of the interior): [url]http://www.multihulls.uk.com/wharram/t31_1165.htm[/url]
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Seaworthiness of various Wharram's and Advice
The 31 on Scotts website is a very interesting proposition for me. A good price with what appears to be a fairly blank canvas to modify to my tastes. I really cannot find much more info on the 31 anywhere on the net. It seems to be a fairly neglected model. Most likely because of the limited accommodation. Thanks for pointing it out!!
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Seaworthiness of various Wharram's and Advice
Hi Tom... With your stated background and the 'wish/want' list you put forth, then I would probably look at the 38... I would think it's big enough to be big and small enough to be small... Single handed type boats are a "must" for me, psychologically speaking also... I want to be able to say..."I'm going sailing tomorrow would you like to go?" as opposed to "can you go" which infers that if you can't then I can't... BIG DIFFERENCE to live with... Looking at the lines of the 38 makes sense to me... (I come from a background of racing Hobie 18's and Nacra 5.7's years ago and "graduated" to bigger boats, the first a Gemini 105 then a FP 35.... Liked both (each has had a particular purpose) with the idea of single/short handling sailing.... Keep your primary wishes up front...Looks as if you're going to be successful in your search and choice... with the smaller 30 being a tad small and the 40 something being a tad (or two) too big.... Luck to you!!! Gordon :D