James Wharram Catamaran less or more than a Tiki 38

   We built our first Wharram catamaran, a Tiki 30 2 years ago. We have a blog bout the construction and sailing of that boat at http://tiki30.blogspot.com/ .  We have sailed this boat several thousand miles since launching and spent many weeks on board  in the Bahamas, the Keys and the west coast of Florida. We have also exhibited her at several boat shows and had a received a lot of feedback.
   The boat sails very well in most conditions and is very comfortable most of the time. But there are a few features or lack thereof which could be improved upon. Several people who have spent time on this boat and have many years of experience on a variety of sailboats  sat with me several times and we discussed the issues and went through several versions before we decided that we had made some significant progress.
   First we added 6" to the aft end of the boat. It seems like most if not all Tiki 30s trim down in the stern.The bows tend to be very empty and light. We added a fourth beam 5' behind the  beam right behind the house.We lengthened the houses by 1' for more space in the galley and nav area.
  We also raised the sheer height by 1'. This is to increase the bridge deck clearance to 3'. Sometimes when our Tiki 30 is jamming along at speed in seas we would thump pretty hard. This really slowed us down when going to weather.Raising the sheer also provides us with wider main bunks and makes the fwd bunk spaces much more comfortable. It also allows us to achieve standing headroom in the galley and the nav area.
  We used the space in the starboard hull between  the 3rd and 4th beam to have a separate head compartment. By building a small house to the height of the top of the beams we  are able to get decent sitting headroom over the toilet and you can stand in the companionway to the head.
  In the same space to port we have include a storage compartment for the propane bottles as well as a large space to store foulies and wet suits. Also we have included a shower that can be used in the companionway or on deck.
   Behind the main cockpit we have put in a helm station. tiller steering or wheel steering are can be accommodated. The helm station  has a fwd windscreen and roll down side curtains for helm protection in cold and/or wet weather.
    We have included two twenty HP outboards in this design for stellar motoring speeds and great maneuverability.  These motors are power tilt and are located under the seats in the main cockpit area. Being in the center of the boat will minimize cavitation and increase maneuverability. Batteries and fuel tanks are also stored under cockpit seats. There are also built in ice chests in the cockpit
   We have included two 160 watt solar panels atop the bimini and 4 8d batteries for increased electrical generation and capacity. This is to allow for the use of either an ice maker or an electric reefer unit.
  I like to sail and I especially like to sail fast. To facilitate this we have used a 42' aluminum mast with a big roach full battened  square top main  with a mast head rig. To help even more with light air performance we have added a retractable carbon bowsprit on which we can fly a srceecher or asymmetrical spinnaker. Working sail area is 650 sqft. It's ok to reef when needed.
   The beam has been increased to 19'8". The weight will come in between 4500 and 5000 lbs. The idea here is to build a bigger faster boat than the Tiki 30, while keeping the small boat feel and performance. The Tiki 38 is a much larger, heavier boat and does not have the same good sailing ability as the Tiki 30.

   Here are some drawings of this design. Any thoughts or comments are welcome.

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Cool Tables on a Sabre Yacht

  We were recently asked to build some custom tables for a 40' Sabre Yacht. The first table was for the settee next to the helm station. They wanted a table that would support a laptop and swing out of the way and be removable when they didn't want it at all.



The leg is carbon fiber over pvc pipe with the base squared off to prevent it from rotating. The bracket at the top is built up from fiberglass with a locking screw built in to fix the tables orientation.

This is not a great picture, but it is the fiberglass receiver which mounts under the step into which the leg goes.We are clamping the glass between forms to form the bracket.


Below is the top bracket in progress.


Here is the leg hole. The receiver bracket is screwed and glued to the floor and the two vertical pieces of the settee under the step. We had to install this through an AC register. Not easy at all. You can see the edge of the fiberglass receiver bracket in the corner. The squared off bottom of the leg is tapered slightly to permit easy removal and installation.

A little teak plug to cover the hole when the table is removed. This is before the plug was varnished.
The owners did not like the standard dinette style table and wanted to put a larger TV in. We took out the cabinet that the original TV was in and built a new cabinet that was only deep enough to hold the electronic audio visual components. I met with the Missus and came up with a design that she approved. We were almost complete with the installation and she said well you aren't going to put that there, are you? (This being the knee to support the table as per the drawings she had blessed). So she didn't want the knee. I then designed a bracket that mounted onto the wall and cantilevered out  to support the table. Having built several tables of this type the structural design standard is whether it is strong enough to have a go on or not. She laughed and said it indeed needed to be that strong. We built the bracket of Divinycell foam and fiberglass with some carbon fiber applied for extra rigidity. We painted it black and attached it securely to the side of the house. We screwed and  glued the table top down to the cabinet top and bracket.

The photo above is a compass rose we put in to cover the holes that attached the old table bracket. Below is the wall with the electronic components attached.

We extended the  counter top to form the new table.

Below you can see the end of the bracket under the table. What you can't see is the part of the bracket that is inside of the cabinet and attached to the wall. Don't know where those photos went. Also visible her is the support for the table leaf extension in its' retracted position.

Here is the table extension and the support extended.


Here is the table with the extra leaf in place. The owners were very pleased with both tables.

Wharram Tiki 38 Relaunched in Hawaii

Almost two years ago I had the good fortune to be doing some yacht work at Bay Ship and Yacht
in the San Fransisco Bay. This was especially cool because this was the time that Beat Rettamund and Beatriz Restrepo were launching there Tiki 38 catamaran "Aluna". Over the several course of the several months that we were working there I was able to visit with Beat and Beatriz and even attend the launching party and go on some sails. Lucky man am I.Last year they left the Bay area and sailed to Hawaii. After spending some time stocking the kitty, spreading and absorbing good energy and battling the man ,they have relaunched "Aluna" and have departed for the Southern Pacific. I am here still working and quite envious of them. They are really nice folks and if you happen to see them out there, say Hi .

Wharram Tiki 38 Catamarans For Sale

This first boat appears to me to be a very clean example of a well built Tiki 38. It is ready to go in Ottawa Canada. The photos show a nice finish and good equipment. I believe he is asking around $80,000 for the boat. I expect it will have new owners soon
The Tiki 38 is one James Wharram Designs mos popular cruising designs.








This next boat is in the UK and is only partially complete. This would be a huge start to someone. This is the only photo I have seen so it is hard to judge build quality. The owner states the boat is %75 complete. I think that this is not really very accurate. He is asking $15,00 BSP or best offer.
With a tall container and some good packing I believe you could get it into one container. This would cost about $3,000 to Miami. This would not count packing.

Speedboat and Genuine Risk

I really look forward to working in Cracker Boy Boat Works in Riviera Beach, FL as there are usually some cool raceboats there. I have shown some pics of Speedboat in the past. They were rigging both Speedboat and Genuine Risk. These are awesome machines.

This mast is worth more than most sailboats in the world. Five sets of spreaders, all carbon and synthetic lines, wow.
These boats have canting keels which can be levered outto windward for an immense righting force.
One of the reasons these boats come to Cracker Boy is that there is sufficient water here. This boat draws 18'.

Just barely fits into the slip for the travel lift.
There is a lot of work going on now prepping the boat to go north for this years Bermuda race and to be ready for another attempt at a trans Atlantic attempt.
I will follow with another post with some very cool photos that I snagged off the internet.

Reuel Parkers Ibis is Launched

Saint Valentines Day 2010. Seems like a pretty good day to launch the new boat from Parker Marine. It's being launched at Riverside Marine in Fort Pierce FL. It's colder than normal but a small crowd is gathered for the occasion. Reuel called me earlier this week and said that it would go in today and I made sure I could be here. the boat had been moved over to where the travel lift could pick it up and was hanging over the keel/centerboard prior to installing the board.

Both masts are hooked up and rigged ready for raising.

This shot shows the butt of the main mast and the main tabernacle. Also visible are the pin rails and the vent for the fresh water tank as well as halyards and lazy jacks. You can clearly see the birds mouth construction of the mast here.

Here is the fore mast tabernacle and the electric winch which will serve to raise the masts and also to control the centerboard. There is still some weather proofing of the winch to come.

A view of the winch and its' control pendant from the aft side. This was my position for about an hour and a half while the boat was lowered down and the centerboard was jacked/pulled up into the trunk. Up a little ,no too much, no a little more, fwd the boat, back the boat ,up,down.....
Here is a view of the board ready to go in. This board is fabricated of ten gauge steel filled with lead. When it is fully down it is the shape of a fin keel foil, when up the boat has 30" draft.

Everyone finally had there tongue on the right side of their mouth and the deed was done. A little bottom paint over the pivot shaft retaining plates and ready to go.

The board is about 1/2 down at this point.

Here the skeg and rudder are visible. The rudder is balanced for better control with a lighter helm and an end plate for better flow.

Here goes.
Sitting in the slings checking everything out. I took some video of this and will try and put it on You Tube later.

Very pretty.
Floating nicely on her lines. There is still several hundred pounds of trim ballast to go in.

Firing off the engine for sea trials.

I was happy to go along for the first trip out into the ICW to check things out. That's Reuel at the helm.

The happy skipper.
Cruising along at about 8 knots, very little wake.

Amy, who has been doing varnish and paint and upholstery and....... This view is from the cockpit into the aft cabin.
Port side aft over the reefer.

Moving forward, the cooker.
Further forward, a cabinet over the galley sink.

The sink itself.

Cabinet below the sink and the aft end of the centerboard trunk.

Above the forward end of the starboard dinette are book shelves.

The dinette table.
The starboard aft end of the cabin.

The engine lives under the cockpit sole and behind the companionway steps.



Our escort vessel for the excursion.

Into the slip where she will be completed in the coming weeks. I will update in a few days when I get to go for a sail. YES