Tiki 8 meter catamaran moveing forward

With the hulls well underway we have started building the decks. They are much more complex pieces to build as there are lots of facets and corners. Again we are using 3/8" divinycell foam as coring and vacuum bagging it in place.

Here we are laminating the two hull halves together with bi-axial tapes.

Three of the four hulls out of the mold. These colors had to be specially mixed to the PMS #s given to us by the hotel.

This deck is just sitting atop the hull for us to visualize the interior space that we had to work with to modify the liner mold to accommodate a marine head

Wharram's Tiki 8 meter catamaran in US Production

We have started building our first fiberglass Wharram. James and Haneke had a set of molds built based on their very popular Tiki 26. They built one boat and for various reasons the project fizzled. Earlier this year we had the molds shipped to us here in Jupiter from England. The molds were in pretty good shape but we spent many hours fairing to improve the quality of the finished parts. Below is one half of a hull mold. The hull is laid up in two halves and then taped together down the center line. After waxing and waxing and then a little more waxing we spayed red gelcoat onto the surface of the mold. After this tacks off we applied a layer of 3/4 oz chopped strand mat (csm). This bonds well to the gel coat and helps prevent print through form the structural laminates. Earlier this year a fellow named Bill Holmes joined our team as a carpenter. Less then two months later we signed a contract for these two FRP boats. "Holmsey" has worked for several large fiberglass sail boat builders in the past and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our program. It's funny how things work out sometimes.

After the mat sets up we apply a layer of 1708 fiberglass. This is a layer of csm backing two layers of unidirectional fibers oriented at +/- 45' to the length of the fabric. This biaxial fabric is much stiffer for a given weight than woven cloth.

These outer layers of fiber are applied using vinylester resin which provides protection from osmotic blisters. After the 1708 skin sets we then vacuum bag a layer of 3/8" Divnycell foam into the hull half.

The picture below is after the bag came off with some of the pvc bleeder manifolds still visible. You can also see where the vacuum has pulled resin through the perforations in the foam. These holes are to ensure that no air becomes trapped between the foam and the laminate. The craftsman in the photo is Bill Holmes.

After the foam another layer of 3/4 oz mat and another layer of 1708 complete this hull half.

Once the two hull halves are ready the molds are bolted together along the center line flanges. There are locating dimples that key the two halves into precise orientation.

The next step is two apply 5 layers of 1708 fibers to the center line. IN the photo below the bolts have not all been drawn up, hence the daylight visible at the bow.

A very poor picture shows the first mold coming off the hull.

Our first hull is complete. Very exciting. Our shop is jam packed at the moment. We are delivering the sportfish interior we have been building for the last several months next week which will free up a lot of space. Then we will have room to start assembling the boats

Boatsmith: U.S. Wharram Catamaran Builder

Last year, Boatsmith determined that there was a growing U.S. market for professionally built Wharram sailing catamarans and build a Tiki 30 demo boat. We took this boat to the Wooden Boat Show in Mystic, CT for inspection by James Wharram and Hanneke Boone of James Wharram Designs. James was honored at the show at a tribute dinner as a modern multihull pioneer along with Jim Brown, Dick Newick, Meade Gougeon, Walter Green, Jim Marples, and Barry Choy.
Wharram Designs have professional builders in Asia, but until now have never entered into an agreement with a professional builder in the USA. James and Hanneke were very favorably impressed with our Tiki 30 and commented that they need more boats built like this. Following the show, we entered into a licensing agreement with James Wharram Designs and are pleased to be their official, professional Wharram Catamaran builder in the U.S.

We've been busy over the last year exhibiting our Tiki 30 at boatshows and Wharram gatherings. The response to this boat has been very positive and we have received several orders for new builds.

Speedboat is for Sale

We have hauled our Tiki 30 out for fresh bottom paint. We are in Cracker Boy Boatworks in Riviera Beach FL. The "Crack" has the deepest water of any boatyard in South FL and so we get to see lots of way cool race boats, particularly in the winter.This boat was shown here several months ago after Branson's failed Transat record attempt. Apparently the boats owner has had a change in his financial condition and now needs to sell the boat. I was told they have $35 million into the boat and are unable to attract buyers at substantially less. So the boat has been separated from her keel and is being strapped down to the ground in preparation for the hurricane season.


Above she looks like the biggest racing dinghy you ever saw,which is pretty much just what she is. Below is her keel still upright in the cradle. 18' of canting keel. WOW

She comes with her own workshop container as well. That's the boom wrapped up on top of the container. Should someone be interested in this boat I can hook you up with contacts. But I want a ride. David

Boatsmith Visits Reuel Parker Schooner Project

I posted some photos a while back on an unusual situation. Kenny Brandon commissioned Reuel Parker and Parker Marine Enterprises to build a 50' centerboard "sharpie-batoue" schooner. Having talked with both Kenny and Reuel I still don't fully understand what really happened. The short version is that Kenny worked with Reuel and crew and they built this boat in 1992. When the boat was launched and sailable Kenny took the boat from Port Saint Lucie to Crescent City on the Saint Johns River and parked it. The boat had no interior and needed lots of work to be called complete. She was sailable but Reuel says that the rig was somewhat expiremental and still needs some work to realize it's potential. The sails are basicaly new. The mian problem with the rig appears to be with the gooseneck/boom setup. They were concieved as an interpertation of sprits and Having seen them I would agree that some more conventional gooseneck/boom setup would work much better. The motor and transmission have very low hours~70. The interior has benn dabbled at some over the years but for all intents and purposes is not there. The main cabin bulkheads are stuctural were installed at the time of the original build but the smaller parts and trim all need to be fabricated and installed. The boat is layed out, as are most of Parker's larger designs , with two seperate cabins. The forward cabin has a fore peak and a stateroom and a head and shower. The aft cabin is taken up by space for a dinnette, galley, large pilot berth and saloon . There are also two hull ports for underwater viewing in this cabin. Outside the paint has essentialy gone away. There are some minor blisters near the port stern where Kenny made a repair after the davits were hit by another boat. Other than that the exterior survaces look pretty good under the failing paint. This boat won't appeal to everyone but I believe it is a real opportunnity for the right person. After having said all of this , I would highly reccomend that someone with serious interest only prceed aftre a haulout and a thorough survey. The boat is I believe restorable to fine yacht status, but it is a fifty foot schooner and if nothing major needs rebuilding is will still require a substantial investment of resources, time and money. If we continue to sell boats and stay busy I would consider this a good project for our shop to undertake, again after doing a complete out of the water survey. Fair winds, David

Here are some photos. I will put up some comments tomorrow