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Tiki 30 Catamaran: A Practical Sailor Boat Test

This wharram-designed coastal-cruising cat is a tempting diy boatbuilding project for those looking to get back to the basics..

Photos by Ralph Naranjo

Part of the catamaran designer James Wharrams success story lies in the lifestyle he has been marketing along with his boats. For decades, like fellow cat-cult heroes Arthur Piver and Jim Brown, he has launched people as well as boats on voyages of discovery. He pitches the case for Spartan simplicity and self-reliance and backs it up with a forthright and savvy boatbuilding syllabus. His is the anathema of the ferro-cement craze, more of a “do with less” rather than “load her up” mindset. He sells his ideas as effectively as any self-help telemarketer, and his elixir to cure a mundane life ashore makes much more sense.

Those who drop in on Wharrams website www.wharram.com are encouraged to buy a pithy, 72-page book thats an unabashed advertisement for Wharrams boats, the practicality of his approach, and the need to shrug off shoreside claptrap and clutter when going to sea. This diehard pitch in support of adventure is infectious, and Wharram spells out how a handy, but not professionally trained, do-it-yourselfer can succeed with his designs.

The semi-hooked can order “study plans” of one or more of the Wharram lines, and the subject of this review-the Tiki 30-is part of the Coastal Trek series. These study plans afford greater specific detail about Wharram designs and spell out the materials needed. They also lead you through a materials tally that includes details about epoxy resin, plywood types, sails, hardware, lines, an outboard auxiliary, and other bits and pieces.

Once you have figured out where you can come up with an average of 900 hours of free time-Wharrams DIY labor estimate-you may be close to plunking down $1,000 for detailed building plans. Those who take the leap and create their boat from scratch say it was worth the investment. Those who also complete the voyage they dreamed about have even more good things to say about the “Wharram Way.”

“Living on the sea” is one of Wharrams favorite phrases, and in many ways, hes as much a cruising enabler as he is a boat designer. Like Brown, and his lure of “Seasteading,” Wharram dangles a mostly realistic getaway plan in front of potential clients. The price point is attractive, at least as long as one views the labor commitment as part of the recreational experience. But when all the glue and paint has finally cured, the bottom line is that the Tiki 30, and most of the other Wharram cats, are best suited to cruisers willing to slip away without huge battery banks, large-volume water tanks, and with less mechanical propulsion reliance. Theres little sense in fitting granite countertops and aiming for a monohull-like interior in the limited space available aboard these catamarans.

One Particular Tiki

Occasionally, we take a close look at a non-mainstream vessel, believing that the old adage “one size fits all” has less merit among sailors. And near the top of our “cult following” list of sailboats are the Wharram-designed fleet of catamarans that are built by dedicated do-it-yourselfers as well as professionals. When we heard that voyager/boatbuilder Dave Martin had just finished a Wharram Tiki 30, we knew that the timing was right for a look at a unique vessel, its crew, and the designer.

A Rare breed

Dave and Jaja Martin and their three children are among the rarest breed of family cruisers, a couple who have sailed and savored the razor-thin edge between high risk and even higher reward. Twenty-plus years ago, when Dave sailed off in his completely restructured and highly modified Cal 25 Direction , he found that single-handing held little appeal. So, after an Atlantic crossing and a Caribbean wedding, he and Jaja followed the tradewind route around the world. The singlehander was now part of a family of five that had outgrown their pocket cruiser. So with a Cal 25 circumnavigation astern, thoughts of a next boat began to take shape.

The curtain lifted on the second act with the Martins rebuilding a 20-year-old, 33-foot steel sloop, literally tearing out the interior and starting from scratch. After an 18-month refit, there came an Arctic adventure that would carry Driver and its crew to Iceland, Norway, Greenland, Newfoundland, and the experience of living aboard during winters in which the rolling sea became as solid as granite. The Martins exemplify voyaging tenacity, but they earn even higher marks for their self-reliance. Theres no sponsorships for their adventures, or independent wealth to fuel a whim. They have taken very modest vessels and turned them into passage-making vehicles able to handle the task at hand. They worked their way around the world and met the locals as participants in their culture rather than as spectators.

Having first met Dave in the Bahamas in 1984 and coaxed him to come work in a boatyard that Practical Sailor Technical Editor Ralph Naranjo was running on Long Island Sound, Naranjo had the good fortune of seeing how seafaring goals and a shipwrights set of skills can set the stage for special cruising opportunities.

except where noted

Act 3 in the Martin saga is like a symphony with a major change in cadence. This time, priorities such as heavy weather survivability, high-volume stowage capacity, and ice resistance were off the drawing board. In their place came priorities such as simplicity and sailing efficiency, along with the imperative that this will be a “from scratch” Dave-built boat. No mean feat in itself, this boat-building endeavor was all the more impressive because the top of the “honey-do list” was a cottage to live in, a shop to work from, and the building of Dave and Jajas dream house. For most of us, this would relegate the boat project to pipedream status, a project that would likely never be started. But for the Martins, in just over a half-dozen years, the trifecta was complete.

The tide has turned, and their family life proceeds with a shoreside cadence. Adolescents are becoming young adults, and the Maine woods rather than a blue horizon dominate the picture. But true to form, as soon as the house was finished, the table saw gathered no rust. Nor did the other tools in the woodshop, as Dave began cutting carefully scribed curves on Okume plywood. One-at-a-time the amas for a 30-foot Tiki filled the extended garage boat shop. The choice of a double- hulled canoe catamaran doesn’t surprise anyone who knows Dave and Jaja. As sailing adventurers, they have yet to sing the same song twice.

Gravitating toward a new mode of cruising, they embraced the theme of light displacement, efficiency under sail, and simplicity. Spartan minimalism is the common thread in this and the other boats of the Martins two exemplary voyages. The elegance in each of these vessels has little to do with opulence, and everything to do with how the boats have fit the job at hand. Simplicity, functionality, and cost effectiveness abound, defining the approach Dave brings to boatbuilding. He still alludes to a down-the-road, larger monohull project for more oceanic adventure, but for now, its all about quick getaways, coastal cruises, light-air sailing, and shoal-draft exploration.

Design Details

The Wharram Tiki design was a natural choice for Dave because the designer has always approached his work from a builder/sailor perspective, rather than as an independent exercise in naval architecture. Simplicity and practicality rule, and in many ways these boats are the extreme opposite of whats displayed at boat shows across the country. Instead of a living room afloat, the Tiki 30 offers wood-grained camp-style accommodations that are enough for a weekend outing, or two-week summer cruises for hardy souls, but will hold little appeal to those looking for a vacation home afloat.

The real genius in this boat comes more from whats not present than whats found on board. No lead, no liners, and no inboard engine adds up to, or more specifically diminishes down to, a displacement that is so light that a low-tech, no-boom small sail plan can provide enough drive to make way, even when the sea surface is mirror smooth. In light zephyrs, this agile cat will tack and make progress to windward. Behaving like a waterbug skittering across the water, the boat reminds the person handling the butter-smooth tiller bar how important efficiency under sail can be.

Like all multihulls, the issue of initial stability is handled by placing the source of buoyancy well away from the centerline of the vessel without creating the skin drag found in a monohull with massive beam. The combination of a high length-to-beam ratio associated with each ama, and ultralight displacement, the Tiki 30 is a thoroughbred when it comes to efficiency and agility.

Thanks to this ultralight displacement status, the Tiki doesn’t need a cloud of sail to deliver light-air efficiency, and Wharram further reduces the need for a tall spar by leveraging aspect ratio through the use of a simple gaff-rigged mainsail. On one hand, the complication of hoisting both a peak and throat halyard adds some extra complexity, but the result is a higher center of effort (CE) with a lower masthead height, and when it comes to building a simple timber spar, it all makes sense. Yes, a carbon spar and PBO rigging would do a better job, but the cost would be more than a DIY builder spends on all of the materials used to build the rest of the boat.

Every multihull designer is concerned about racking or twisting loads induced in a structure as the heeling force and righting moment interplay on rolling sea. Some use massive bridgedeck structures to transfer rig loads from ama to ama. The Tiki 30 incorporates three well-engineered triangular beam structures and a modern rendition of the Polynesian art of lashing canoe hulls together. Care must be taken during construction to make sure that each beam has a flush fit with a well-reinforced portion of the ama deck, and that the polyester double-braid line used for the lashing is tensioned to designer specifications. These rigidly held athwartship supports may creak in a rolling seaway, but the connection between hulls is rugged and long lasting.

Performance

Under sail, the Tiki is an agile and responsive performer. It balances well, and its V-shaped sections and long shallow keel plus outboard rudders provide good directional stability and responsive steering. The underbody configuration allows the cat to be safely beached, and the complexity of dagger boards is eliminated. The lack of daggerboards has its drawback: Theres less windward capability, but the V-shaped hulls and long run of shallow keel does pretty well to windward without them.

Perhaps the most rigid design characteristic that can’t be circumvented is the importance of keeping its payload in check. This is a boat designed to stay on its lines not bog down and suffer the consequences of excess drag. Its long, lean amas knife through the sea, but their ability to put up with excess weight is minimal. More weight necessitates additional buoyancy, and as the V-shaped sections are submerged, significant increases in skin drag occur along with a loss of vital freeboard. This runs contrary to the design attributes of the vessel and results in performance setbacks and poor sea-keeping ability.

These fast, nimble, cost-effective cats garner a following among do-it-yourself builders because they are efficient to build. Wharrams streamlined approach to construction is a comprehensive blend of materials and hull-shape development that results in a strong, light structure. The expedited build process is free of finicky labor-intensive work and costly esoteric materials. In essence, Wharrams approach uses a minimal strong back, a stitch-and-glue joining process, and lines that allow large scarf-joined panels of high-quality marine plywood to be bent into the shape of a double-canoe catamaran. Bulkheads act as the athwartship formers, and as Wharram puts it, the builder uses a thickened epoxy filleting compound to “weld” the wood together.

The Tiki 30 is well-tailored for Spartan coastal cruising but a bit gossamer for ocean passagemaking, despite the fact that many have done so. Its ability to tuck into tight places, to perform admirably under power with only a 9.9-horsepower long-shaft, four-stroke kicker and its ability under sail give it high marks in our book. For many, camper/cruiser comfort is enough, and with the easy unfurling of a full cockpit awning, the boat becomes spacious enough at anchor to fulfill the dreams of a vacation cruise.

The Tiki is indeed a versatile platform, a pleasure to sail, and a project worth tackling if youre not too worried about dollars and cents. Wharram boats backyard-built pedigrees and their fringe appeal make them a tough sell on the used boat market, so if you plan to build one, you had better plan to sail it.

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Hi and hope all is well!

In the attached pictures you can see what has been done and where I am at this point (60% complete)… I live in Connecticut and in a perfect world, I would like someone to take it over- either with me or partnered or to just buy me out outright… The boat is amazingly special and needs to be finished and/or needs the right home… Any suggestions? 860-573-1154 -Johnny

It’s Wharram Tiki 30 BTW – Johnny

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Projects: Building the ultimate ‘trailer sailer’ with epoxy

Celebrating sixty years since he first journeyed across the Atlantic in his self-built catamaran, James Wharram is creating his ‘dream boat’: Mana 24. Here, James’s co-designer Hanneke Boon tells us all about this commemorative self-build kit.

Cornwall’s James Wharram is a bona fide celebrity in the catamaran community. In 1955 he claimed a place in history for sailing himself, two friends, a dog and 200 books to Trinidad in his self-built multi-hull, Tangaroa.

It was a pioneering voyage; James proved the ancient Polynesians were indeed able to travel the oceans via catamaran. Yet in the 1950s this wasn’t even a recognised form of sea travel. “James called the Tangaroa a ‘double canoe’,” says Hanneke Boon, James’s co-designer of many years. “At that time the word ‘catamaran’ wasn’t really known!”

Today his company, James Wharram Designs, is well-established as a leading designer of catamaran kits for the self-build market. To celebrate a full 60 years since James’s maiden voyage, they’re launching a new design – Mana 24. “It’s James’s dream boat!” laughs Hanneke. “At 23 feet six, it’s exactly the same size as the Tangaroa but a lot more sophisticated.”

Epoxy: transforming wooden boat-building

Interestingly, the main reason why James and Hanneke design and build kit boats at all is the advent of epoxy resin. The pair were introduced to epoxy’s potential when they saw Meade Gougeon describe using epoxy to coat, bond and seal wood at the first World Multihull Symposium in Toronto in 1976.

“Meade Gougeon presented a very well-researched paper about epoxy. James was impressed. He said ‘I’ll make boats like origami using this material!’”

However, it wasn’t until they met him again in 1979 at a HISWA symposium in Amsterdam that they were truly convinced that epoxy was the ideal boatbuilding material to make kit-building possible. “Meade Gougeon presented a very well-researched paper about epoxy. James was impressed. He said “I’ll make boats like origami using this material!”

Hanneke has no doubt that epoxy has completely transformed wooden boatbuilding and building in plywood in particular. “Epoxy has introduced a whole new element in fillet-making. It means that not everything has to be cut quite so precisely or so carefully bevelled.”

Mana 24: the boat you can keep at home

Mana 24 will sit in the middle of the James Wharram Designs’ Coastal Trek range. It is specifically designed as a ‘trailer sailer’ – a small, lightweight boat that can easily be stored at home (thus avoiding costly mooring fees) and taken to the water by trailer. It will be offered as a kit of pre-cut plywood parts and accompanying epoxy materials, making the building process much quicker than building from Plans. “James loves to think that within just a few months, anyone with simple tools and a practical bent can have their own boat in which to start having adventures,” says Hanneke.

Mana’s design is a deliberate hybrid of James’s and Hanneke’s many ideas and successes over the years. Reviving previously shelved plans for a 23 footer and drawing on elements from the company’s Tiki and Amatasi designs, Mana has a Wharram Wingsail Catrig and a more chined hull. “We’ve always wanted a boat with a more chined hull. Combined with a low-aspect keel it gives good lateral resistance and allows us to reverse the cabin space, giving a wider bunk aft,” says Hanneke. “When we started designing Mana 24, this just clicked.”

In fact, the whole boat has been carefully designed to maximise available space. Although she has just two single bunks in the hulls, the forward-placing of Mana’s main mast enables a dome tent to be set up on the deck – meaning the boat could easily accommodate a small family.

Stitch and glue

The hulls of Mana, just like all of the company’s other designs, will be a series of plywood panels which are ‘stitched and glued’ together using woven glass tape and WEST SYSTEM® epoxy fillets. She also has a ply keel, which Hanneke believes makes for a robust structure. “It forms the backbone of the boat, making it very strong when you beach it or when it’s on the trailer.”

“I’ve always used WEST SYSTEM epoxy; we build professionally with it and I’ve seen it proven time and time again in durability.”

The Mana kit will also include delivery of WEST SYSTEM epoxy, which Hanneke says should make it even easier to build. “I’ve always used WEST SYSTEM epoxy; we build professionally with it and I’ve seen it proven time and time again in durability.”

Passing mana to Mana 24

The Mana 24 kit should be available to buy in Spring 2016. At the moment, however, Hanneke is working with a team of volunteers to build a prototype. This will form the basis of the kit, so it’s very important that they carry out the build like a home boat-builder would.

“For example, it took us 37 hours to first coat and sand the inner faces of one hull with epoxy. So, for the kit, we’ve decided to pre-coat the inner hull panels and bulkheads,” explains Hanneke. “It’s easy for us to coat the ply professionally, giving a perfectly smooth finish and this alone should save home builders 70 hours on the total build.”

It’s fitting that James, Hanneke and their team are investing so much time and energy into this design. “To the Polynesians, mana is energy and spirit,” says Hanneke. “A tool can gain mana by being used by a craftsman. James and I and all of the volunteers working on this boat… we are all putting mana into her. We are passing our knowledge and experience into her design and our home-builders will pass on their mana when they bring her design to life.”

For more information about the progress of the Mana 24 prototype and the kit, visit the James Wharram Designs Facebook page .

To learn more about James Wharram Designs and its full portfolio, visit their website (http://wharram.com/site) .

To discover exactly how WEST SYSTEM epoxy products can transform your boat building project, visit the West System International website .

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James Wharram Designs Mana 24

08 October 2014     Editor    2 Comments.

GALLERY | Click images to enlarge

James Wharram Designs has a new boat on the drawing board, a 24’ trailerable catamaran that slots nicely between the venerable Tiki 21 and 26. The Mana 24 features some new wrinkles in the Wharram design evolution spiral, most noticeably a chined hull. The new design also features a cat ketch rig, which is well known on trailerable monohulls, and it is interesting to see it employed on a cat. No jibs means no head stay tension, giving light mast compression loads, allowing lighter beams. The spiral at work!

The most economical way to enjoy sailing is to build your own small lightweight boat, to keep it at home and trail it to the waters you want to sail in. This gives opportunity to explore many more sailing areas than if based on a permanent mooring and at much lower cost. Whilst exploring this idea I am looking sideways into the world of camping and the living equipment you need for a camping holiday bought at a reasonable price, as against highly priced yachting equipment. All these ideas have come together, resulting in the new MANA 24 design, a catamaran specifically designed for trailer sailing. ~James Wharram

  New Designs   Catamarans   Designers

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having a look at my melanesia plans (same hull shape as tahiti wayfarer) these hulls seem to be more or less identical with the tiki skeg and rudders added.

An attractive design, for sure, but being trailable in its disassembled state does not make it a trailer-sailer. I can’t wait for the unedited ‘how-to’ launching video to come out. It should be a hoot to watch!

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James Wharram: life and legacy of the iconic designer

• January 29, 2024

Julien Girardot meets Hanneke Boon in Cornwall to discover the legend and legacy of pioneering catamaran designer James Wharram

Falmouth, Cornwall, 1955: a legend is born along Customs House Quay. A smartly dressed young man with wild, curly hair has launched a 23ft catamaran, built in just a few months for the modest sum of £200 (the equivalent of around £6,500 today).

Rigged as a ketch with battened junk sails, the aptly named Tangaroa (meaning ‘God of the Sea’ in Polynesian) marked the beginning of the epic Wharram story.

At the time, catamarans were considered dangerous and eccentric, while yachting was a pastime largely reserved for high society. But sailing already has other visionaries. On the deck of Tangaroa, beside James, are two young women: Jutta Schulze-Rhonhof and Ruth Merseburger. In puritanical post-war England, setting off to cross the Atlantic with two young women – and German ones at that – was downright shocking! But these three young people care not a jot about conventional thinking. They dream of adventure and their enterprise is an act of defiance.

For years James Wharram has nurtured a passion for the history of sailing pioneers and the ethnic origins of the multihull. Devouring every book on the subject he could lay his hands on, he discovered the story of Joshua Slocum, the first solo circumnavigator (1895-1898), and the voyage of Kaimiloa by the Frenchman Eric de Bisschop. The tale, published in English in 1940, of de Bisschop’s attempt to prove the seaworthiness of double canoes by making a voyage from Hawaii to France on a catamaran he had built on the beach, became Wharram’s primary source of inspiration.

Riding out the storm: James Wharram at the helm of Tangaroa in Biscay in 1955. Photo: Julien Girardot

Wharram disagreed with many assumptions of the time, and his first Atlantic crossing was an opportunity to refute Thor Heyerdahl’s theory on the settlement of the Pacific islands. Wharram contested the assertion of the Danish anthropologist who, after his voyage aboard the Kon-Tiki in 1947, affirmed that the boats used were simple rafts. Wharram was convinced that the boats were more akin to double canoes with sails, capable of going upwind and holding a course. These early multihulls, consisting of two hollowed-out tree trunks, were connected by crossbeams bound together with plant fibre. The sails were probably made from what is known as ‘tapa’ in Polynesia, hammered tree bark, which was also used to make clothes.

The three young adventurers left Falmouth on 27 September 1955 on a boat loaded with books, basic foods, and very little else. Despite a fraught passage, encountering storms in the Bay of Biscay and being suspected of being spies by Franco’s Guardia Civil, the trio successfully crossed the Atlantic and reached the island of Trinidad on 2 February 1957.

Without a penny to their name, they adopted a simple island life, and Jutta gave birth to her and James’ first child, Hannes. The unconventional polyamorous family lived aboard a raft inspired by the floating dwellings of the Pacific, nicknamed ‘the paradise island of the South Seas’. Tangaroa, now tired, was abandoned, as Wharram decided to build a new catamaran. By chance, two solo sailors came to anchor in the bay where the Wharram tribe lived afloat, and the legendary Bernard Moitessier and Henry Wakelam helped Wharram build his new design, Rongo.

Wharram, Merseburger and Schulze-Rhonhof aboard Tangaroa in Falmouth, 1955, before their Atlantic crossing. Photo: Julien Girardot

Thanks to the experience of his first transatlantic voyage, as well as knowledge gathered from Wharram’s endless reading, Rongo was much more accomplished. While Tangaroa was flat-bottomed, Rongo has V-hulls. To prove the design’s seaworthy qualities, Wharram decided to tackle the North Atlantic, sailing from west to east with his two companions. This route was known to strike fear into the hearts of multihull sailors of the time, as the two previous attempts had tragically ended in two deaths.

The crew left La Martinique for New York on 16 April 1959, one year after Rongo’s construction began. The return voyage to Conwy in Wales took 50 days, but the gamble paid off, and Wharram’s new design was the first to achieve what many thought impossible. The curly-haired eccentric became something of a celebrity, and following his great Atlantic adventure, James published his first book, Two girls, Two Catamarans. The years that followed were Wharram’s golden age, with plans released to suit every budget and every dream. Soon there were Wharram designs all over the world, connected by a powerful community spirit.

Drawing a Wharram

My own journey to this remote corner of Cornwall began decades before. After 15 years of travelling the world, inventing and reinventing my life, including many years living in the Pacific islands, I felt the need to capture these experiences by creating the boat of my dreams.

Illustrations inspired by a visit to the Wharram design office in Cornwall. Image: Benjamin Flao

While living in Tuamotu, I was involved in several incredible projects to build traditional sailing canoes under the directive of talented local Tahitian boatbuilder, Alexandre Genton (now chief of operations at Blue Composite shipyard in Tahiti). At first we launched small single-seat sailing canoes with two outrigger floats. These are the simplest way to sail: a sheet in one hand, a paddle in the other, which you plunge over the side of the canoe into the water, and it makes a perfect rudder. Then we built a larger version, Va’a Motu, for a hotel in Bora Bora, of splendid stripped kauri planking. Finally, we worked with the local population to build an ambitious 30ft Va’a Motu with a single ama, on the atoll of Fakarava in the Tuamotu archipelago.

Curiously, after many experimental trials at building and sailing canoes, my imagined ideal yacht turned out to be something very close to a Wharram design, which I learned as soon as I shared my first cautious sketches with friends. I realised I had to meet James Wharram.

In October 2021, I dialled the number of JW Designs. A woman answered; James’ long-term life and business partner Hanneke Boon. I tell her my ideas to build from one of their plans: the Islander 39. We began an email exchange and when I asked her what James thought of this model, in November 2021, less than a month before he died, she replied: “James is enthusiastic about your project. He’s now 93 years old and nearing the end of his life.

The Pahi 63 Spirit of Gaia which Wharram and Boon sailed around the world. Image: Benjamin Flao

“He has been looking at the Islander 39 design for several years and often says, ‘I wish I had one myself.’ It’s the only Wharram design that has never been built, so your project is a wish come true for him.”

On 14 December 2021, James Wharram passed away. Out of respect for the bereavement, and due to Covid-related travel restrictions, we decided to postpone our meeting. Some months later on a beautiful spring afternoon, I landed in Plymouth with my friend and artist Benjamin Flao, himself the owner of a Wharram-designed Tiki 28, and headed for Devoran near Truro in Cornwall, the stronghold of the Wharram family.

Hanneke welcomes us into her office. It is a beautiful wooden cabin, warm and bright, overlooking the changing lights of Cornwall. The place looks like a museum telling the story of a life of travel and passion through yacht models, photographs and unusual objects. James is there, you can feel it. A glance at the shelves of the library shows an impressive array of rare and precious books, mostly dealing with navigation and shipbuilding in Oceania, and demonstrates the seriousness with which Wharram and Boon studied the history and technicality of ‘double canoes’.

“I’d like our boats to be called double canoes and not catamarans, which I think is a mistake,” Hanneke explains. The word catamaran, originally pronounced ‘catamaron’, comes from the Tamil dialect of katta ‘to bind’ and maram ‘wood’, as they were actually one-man rafts used to work on the outer hull of ships. The English pirate and adventurer William Dampier, in the 1690s, was the first to describe a two-hulled vessel as a catamaran, but although catamarans might be the commonly accepted word nowadays, it’s actually a mistake.

oon unfolds the plans of the Islander 39, the only Wharram design that has never been built. Many plans were hand-drawn by Boon. Photo: Julien Girardot

Hanneke unfolds the Islander 39 plan on her drawing board. Like all Wharram plans for half a century, it has been marked with her signature. Despite this unique pencil stroke, she has remained in the shadow of Wharram’s mythology for 50 years. Since 1970, Boon has drawn the majority of the construction plans by hand. They’re works of art and the best way to imagine yourself aboard a Wharram. Without her, JW Designs would not be what it is.

Originally from the Netherlands, Boon grew up in a family of sailing enthusiasts. By the age of 14 she was already building small canoes and at the age of 20 she joined the Wharram team and quickly became his co-designer. They criss-crossed the Atlantic twice in quick succession aboard Tehini, the crab claw-rigged double canoe on which James and several women lived for 10 years. Since then, Hanneke has escaped from her office whenever she can to sail thousands of miles on all the seas of the world, always using a double canoe.

Those radical vessels included the Spirit of Gaia, also built on site, through a sliding door next to Hanneke’s office. It was aboard this 63ft Pahi, Wharram’s flagship, that the Wharrams sailed around the world from 1994 to 1998. James described Spirit of Gaia as “a beautifully shaped woman he was in love with”.

Boon’s design office is adjacent to the Wharram HQ in Devoran and looks out over one of the River Fal’s many creeks. Photo: Julien Girardot

In Wharram’s wake

James and Hanneke’s home is a former veterinary surgery. The furnishings are basic, with only the essentials, but the doors close by themselves, thanks to an ingenious system of weights, ropes and pulleys. Benjamin and I offer to shop and cook, and in the living room, we put the dishes down and eat on the floor, like on the deck of a Wharram.

Jamie, James and Hanneke’s son, joins us for the meal with his partner Liz. “James has remained the icon of the business, but it’s really Hanneke who has been doing the job for the last 10 years. She is JW Designs,” confides Liz.

Jamie is at first more subdued, but talking to him you soon discover a true character. Given the world he grew up in, it’s surprising to learn that sailing is not really his thing: “I get bored quickly at sea and I’m sick most of the time! I prefer to be underwater. Above the line is not my thing.

Evocative illustration of the Wharram workshop in Devoran, Cornwall. Image: Benjamin Flao

“I do like the calmness of the ocean though, that parenthesis effect, detached from our hectic lives on land. In fact, I think the best thing about sailing is remembering long voyages, not making them,” Jamie jokes.

But he is keen to preserve Wharram’s legacy and the couple are thinking ahead to when Hanneke can no longer hold the fort. “As long as Hanneke is alive, the business will be run in her own way. But it’s certain that something will be put in place to enable people to continue to acquire the building plans, at the very least, this service will remain guaranteed.”

Back in the office next door, Nicki John answers clients and sends plans around the world. She’s only been with JWD for a couple of years, but that’s long enough for her to fall in love with the company’s story.

“One of the things I loved about James was that he came in every day. He’d knock on the door and jokingly ask, ‘Do you have time for some gossip?’ And then he’d tell me all sorts of stories. His travels, the women he had shared his life with, it was fascinating. When he was 18, he hitchhiked to Europe, smuggling coffee on the black market to finance his adventures. James’ story is just phenomenal.

Mana 24 is available as a CNC-cut self-build kit boat. Photo: Julien Girardot

“One day James came in, took out a plan, unfolded it as he sat down, and said, ‘Aren’t they beautiful?’ James was deeply convinced of Hanneke’s talent. He never stopped admiring her,” Nicki says fondly.

The community Wharram fosters is unique. Nicki shows us a photo that defines the ‘Wharram spirit’, of the hull of a Wharram being lifted out of the second floor window of a home in England. With no shed to build their Wharram design, they decided to use their living room as a boatyard. “This picture shows that if you really want to build a Wharram, you can do it anywhere,” says Nicki, “During Covid, we sold a lot more plans. Confined, people dreamed of freedom and took time to figure out how they wanted to live their lives.”

Now it’s Hanneke’s turn to shine as the head of JWD. In contrast to the technologically-led path that sailing often follows, James and Hanneke’s ‘low tech’ approach drives those who follow it to reconnect with past knowledge, practices, and philosophical approaches to our relationship with the world and the way we live in it.

Their love of minimalism is also at odds with many trends in modern yachting, but it brings its own luxury. The joy of not having too much of anything allows you to make room for the essentials, and for the beauty that surrounds you.

My dream of building Wharram’s unfulfilled plan, the Islander 39, remains. I’m in no hurry. Like the libertarian vision of James Wharram, it endures.

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Tiki 36, Wharram design catamaran

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Has anyone seen this new build design by BOATSMITH out of Florida? If any vessel can push me over to a Catamaran, this is it. Traveling out to Nigeria in a few hours, but will pick up internet access once there, I'd appreciate your views now though. I love the concept of this vessel. 32' waterline --- 28" draft --- 4500 lbs displacement --- 650 sq. ft sail area = Hello! comments please. These numbers add up, why are there not more of them out there?  

Why are there not more of them out there? Because Wharrams are usually a pain in the butt to sail, most are very crudely built (I understand that Boatsmith does a nice job) , and do not sail worth a darn? Why else?  

Jeff_H said: Why are there not more of them out there? Because Warrams are usually a pain in the butt to sail, most a very crudely built (I understand that Boatsmith does a nice job) , and do not sail worth a darn? Why else? Click to expand...

Why else indeed? It's all about the sailing for me. Never been on a cat of this size but I did like the numbers on paper - don't you?  

okay, i'll bite Jeff. Could you actually explain the deficiencies of the sailing characteristics vs other comparable ocean going cats. Any boat, home or professional built can be crude. So please spell it out for those of us that are interested in learning about different platforms. Otherwise, as with my personal vehicle my motto is: Absolutely Nothing Beats A Hummer .  

Jesus H.....TDW, I wish someone would have told me! The Kombis went 5 months ago to my daughter's boyfriend, my hair went in 1999 (after the Brazil 1200' dive), my denims went last year because I'm too fat, but the tie dye shirts, sandals, head-bands and weed stay with me! Now, listen-up you lot! I see a vessel with some interesting numbers. This Wharram is built by a professional. Not the back yard project you're thinking about. Look at the displacement vs the waterline length vs sail area... this thing could move and I want to know why not- in your opinion- anyone out there - who isn't stoned...  

Nemier, Do you have a link to the Tiki 36 ? I can't find the site.  

Thomas Forth Jones had some good things to say about Wharram's designs. And he should know he built a couple of them as well as sailed them for years. In my opinion, and I'll start by saying that I've always like Wharrem's designs but it's best strengths is it's biggest weaknesses. It's biggest strengths are that the designs are both simple to build and sail while still getting high marks for stability and strength offshore. Unfortunantly even when built by professional builders they still look homemade-ish. They're also not the most accomadating boats in the comfortable interiors. Add in that the vast majority of sailors are never going offshore and they don't have a good resale. Most people want more space so opt for a catamaran that has a built up bridge deck. So unless your really planning to keep the boat on an anchorage most of the time when your not sailing to exotic locales then your going to pay a high price to keep a boat on a slip that's not overly comfortable for weekend cruising or parties.  

Here's the Boatsmith link Wharram Catamarans And here's Wharram's site James Wharram Designs -Home of the self-build Catamaran.  

I went onboard the Boatsmith Tiki 30.... at the Miami Boat Show two years ago. Absolutely gorgeous piece of work. I have no connection with the builder but if I could afford him and his crew they would be working on my boat. As for the Wharram designs, I have no direct experience sailing them so I will leave comment on that to others.  

Sometimes the arrogance of some of this forum's members really makes my day happier and puts a smile on my face. :laugher Sure, Wharram cats, Piver tris and the likes of it are nothing but rubish. I wonder why so many crossed so many oceans so many times. Often faster and safer than their professionally built counterparts... But I do understand the owners of plastic-fantastic latest generation multi thousand $ boats, after all sailing, let alone cruising, shouldn't be allowed to the masses and those who are anything short of milionairs should be all sailing nothing bigger than toppers and laser dinghies...  

pedcab said: Sometimes the arrogance of some of this forum's members really makes my day happier and puts a smile on my face. :laugher Sure, Wharram cats, Piver tris and the likes of it are nothing but rubish. I wonder why so many crossed so many oceans so many times. Often faster and safer than their professionally built counterparts... But I do understand the owners of plastic-fantastic latest generation multi thousand $ boats, after all sailing, let alone cruising, shouldn't be allowed to the masses and those who are anything short of milionairs should be all sailing nothing bigger than toppers and laser dinghies... Click to expand...

TDW and why are you not at the boat show?????  

Simon, Had to move the Womboat to her new home today. Going to try and avoid the weekend crowds, heading off to the show on Monday. You're not in town are you ? Cheers Andrew  

Jeff, I'm kind of new around here and don't know much about you and your vast sailing experience on all types of sailboats. Did you base your opinion on how Wharrams sail on personal experience sailing a Wharram, or by rumor? How did you come to the conclusion that they don't sail? I personally sailed Boatsmith's Tiki 30 from Miami to Jupiter last year, and we were constantly surfing up to 17 knots. Then we beat up the channel and it pointed ok, with a ballanced helm. After a Worrell 1000, sailing my cruising cat thousands of miles, a Tornado Olympic trials and several other world championships, I base my opinion on catamaran experience. How bout you?  

Expensive compared to what???  

Hi Boatsmith, are you showing the 36 at the Annapolis show next month? I would like to see it! Cheers Nick  

Back in the late 60s as a teenager with ambitions(never realised) to sail the Alantic it was the 28 foot Wharram Tane that appealed both to my "flower power" sentiments ; my pocket and its design and construction concept Never owned one but occasionally see them about and get tempted. Would love one of the small day sailer ones particularly when getting my 33 foot ketch out for a day sail!. Certainly time spent last year in NZ where I saw several in their true environment of the south Pacific rekindled the facination of my youth! Wharram himself always argued that there was a philosophy involved in his cats-either you like them or loath them.  

Hi Boatsmith, Expensive compared to the Wharrams on sale. At the time I was looking at a recent vintage Pahi 32 for $60k.  

I'd point out that many of the earlier Wharrams were home-built and as such often had flaws due to the deficiencies in their construction rather than their design. I've sailed on a few of the Wharrams and agree that they're not as weatherly as some other designs, and Wharram's designs tend to be less rigid than other catamaran designs, and as such can have problems related to the lack of rigidity. I do not have any experience with the Boatsmith built Tiki 36s. But, I would point out that the open bridgedeck design tends to leave anyone helming the boat for any period of time in bad weather, relatively exposed and uncomfortable.  

Many early Wharrams are very flexible vessels. This is in part due to design and also to lack of building and rigging finesse and lack of maintenance. Wharram's newer designs are lashed together. This technique applied with diligence and modern ropes will yield a much more rigid structure. Part of Wharram's design philosophy is that a minute amount of flexibility in the beam to hull connection serves to absorb the intense shock loading inherent at these connections. Indeed if you look at a boat with aluminum cross tubes it is very common to see stress cracks and repairs. The open bridge deck boat certainly does leave a helmsman exposed, which over time in inclement weather can be both uncomfortable and dangerous. Much like many small monohulls. On the Tiki 36 we addressed this issue by adding a windscreen and roll down curtain/windows for the helm station.  

Say what you will about Wharram catamarans, but show me another multihull design with the proven seaworthiness of his Tiki range. Nothing comes close to the number of ocean passages successfully completed in these simple boats. Even the Tiki 21, which James Wharram never intended as an offshore voyager, has circumnavigated. And the same boat, again sailed by Rory McDougall, just completed a double trans-Atlantic this summer, the first leg over as part of the Jester Challenge, and return to England just for the hell of it and to take the boat back home. Needless to say, the larger Tikis are simply as seaworthy or more so than the Tiki 21. Many Tiki 26's have crossed the Atlantic, as have Tiki 30's and of course the larger Tiki 38, Tiki 46 and so on. These passages were not stunts, nor were they completed because of "luck." People who build and sail these designs tend to be out there living the voyaging life and going wherever they please, rather than debating the merits of boat design on Internet forums. I have sailed the Boatsmith Tiki 30, including a delivery trip to Nassau last summer. David has raised the bar on these designs without a doubt, showing what's possible when a great design is built to exacting standards by professionals using state orf the art materials and technologies. Sure there are some ratty home-built Wharrams out there. Many people who build these boats have no idea what they're getting into and lack the skill and the funds to build them to a high standard. Yet, the designs are so forgiving they still manage to build them and often sail them far. As for the overall appeal of the designs, as Wharram himself said, you either love them or hate them. I happen to love them because I know what they can do and I think they look really cool anchored in a tropical lagoon or pulled up on the beach somewhere.  

We had our first family cruise this summer on our Contour 34 - and while it was great - the appeal of something like the rigid deck of the wharram would have been even better. I've not sailed one - and am a bit concerned about the possibility of pitching given the pinched ends, so I lean a bit more towards Richard Woods' designs. Assuming the next couple of years are as successful as this years cruise, I'd expect that we'd be looking for something like this boat in 2-3 years time. I think a boat like this one would be ideal.  

C'mon down and go for a sail grmitche  

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Beam:  21'    Draft:  3.5'     Beam:  20'    Draft:  3'     Beam:  22.5'    Draft:  3'     Beam:  12'    Draft:  1.5'     Beam:  15'    Draft:  2'     Beam:  20'    Draft:  3'2'     Beam:  20'    Draft:  3'     Beam:  21'    Draft:  3'     Beam:  13'    Draft:  1.5' © 2001-2024 ./)   . . ./)   . . News & Views Boats & Gear Lunacy Report Techniques & Tactics JAMES WHARRAM: His New Autobiography Dec. 18/2020:  James Wharram, who first came to notice back in the 1950s after sailing a crude homemade catamaran across the Atlantic from England to Trinidad with two occasionally (and famously) unclad women, has cut a unique trail through the firmament of modern yacht design. He has always planted his flag far outside the boundaries of Western nautical convention, and in spite of this, or because of it, became one of the most successful creators of build-it-yourself boat designs in the history of sailing. Now in his tenth decade, with the help of his longtime design and business partner Hanneke Boon, James has at last shared his full story in People of the Sea , recently published by Lodestar Books . Those who have long wondered about this enigmatic figure, and even those who have never heard of him, will find it a fascinating tale. Coming of age in Manchester, England, in the immediate aftermath of World War II, James Wharram came from a working-class background and early on developed a liberal, some would say libertine, frame of mind. His first exposure to outdoor sports was as a “bog-trotter” who spent weekends mucking about the moors and mountains of northern Britain, but his interest soon switched to seafaring after he found a seductive node of small-boat adventure books in the Manchester Central Library. The most influential of these was The Voyage of the Kamiloa , by Eric de Bisschop , who sailed a Polynesian-style “double canoe” from Hawaii to France via the Cape of Good Hope in the late 1930s. The great “anti-influence” in Wharram’s life was the much more renowned Thor Heyerdahl , whose raft voyage from South America to Polynesia was documented in his bestselling book Kon-Tiki . Heyerdahl had hoped to prove that the Pacific islands were first populated by mariners who drifted downwind from the Americas. Wharram, with de Bisschop as his inspiration, has spent his life championing the opposite proposition, which has ultimately proven correct, that the islands were in fact first populated by mariners from Asia, sailing to windward in supple, seaworthy double-canoes. Though he made his name in catamarans, Wharram’s first serious boat was a 20-foot converted lifeboat with a junk rig named Annie E. Evans . He’s seen here aboard Annie with his first sea-going partner, Ruth Merseburger. Ruth and James lived and worked together until her death in 2013 Ruth aboard Wharram’s first catamaran, Tangaroa , built in 1954 James sailed transatlantic on Tangaroa in 1955-56 with both Ruth (right) and another woman, Jutta Shultze Rhonhof (left). His first book, Two Girls Two Catamarans , tells the story of this voyage and its aftermath. Both Ruth and Jutta were German, hardy survivors of the apocalyptic postwar scene there. Jutta, sadly, was traumatized and badly scarred by her postwar experience Tangaroa eventually disintegrated after James and crew reached Trinidad aboard her. Here we see James building a new boat there, a 40-footer to be named Rongo , with some help from the famous French singlehander Bernard Moitessier (center) and Henry Wakelam (right), who was a great friend and mentor to Moitessier Rongo under sail. Wharram sailed her with Ruth and Jutta from Trinidad first to New York City, then on back to the UK in 1959. Rongo was Wharram’s first design with a V-shaped hull, a feature that became increasingly important to him Those familiar with Wharram’s career will wonder if he explains in this new book what exactly has been going on with all the women around him. In addition to Ruth and Jutta, seen above, James’s Dutch partner, Hanneke Boon, whom he first met when she was but a teenager, has also played a very major role in his life. He has had children by both her and by Jutta. And indeed, one intriguing fact we learn in this autobiography is that Wharram at one point worked professionally with a group of five different women in Ireland, but was ultimately “divorced” by three of them. To his credit, Wharram’s treatment of the subject is perfectly straightforward and not at all lascivious. He makes it all seem very natural–as it obviously has been for him and all concerned–and by the end you are left to wonder why more people don’t live this way. Wharram’s great talent it seems, both as a designer and as a person, is not that he has attracted women to sailing per se, but rather that he has fostered sailing communities (hence the book’s title) in which women have played very prominent roles. Sailing in the West Indies aboard the third ocean-going double-canoe James designed and built for himself, the 52-foot Tehini One of the great overarching goals of Wharram’s life had always been to sail one of his own boats into the Pacific, and it is surprising how long it took for him to achieve this. It wasn’t until 1995, aboard his great Pahi 63, Spirit of Gaia , the most Polynesian of his design iterations, that James and company (after a nearly calamitous Panama Canal transit) finally emerged in the great ocean that had originally inspired him as a designer. It is also a bit ironic that just as James sought and did not receive recognition from the British yachting establishment early in his career, he likewise was dissed during his voyage into the Pacific by the traditional Polynesian sailing revivalists who emerged in the late 20th century. In the end, however, Wharram has had his sweet revenge. The British establishment has at last paid him his due. And in what was likely a crowning affirmation of Wharram’s career, when the last of the great traditional Polynesian navigators, Mau Piailug, boarded Gaia in Raiatea he at once pronounced “this is how it should be done.” Mau in fact was so impressed he eventually asked James for a custom design, the Islander 65, but unfortunately passed on before it could be built. Design for the Pahi 63. James and company ultimately sailed this boat around the world James meeting with elders aboard Gaia at Tikopia in the Solomon Islands Hanneke Boon steering Lapita Anuta , a recreation of a prehistoric Pacific voyaging craft, into Rabaul, Papua New Guinea I have read many memoirs by yacht designers, but this one, I have to say, has been by far the most various and intriguing. I am sure anyone else interested in the “outer limits” of modern yacht design will feel the same way. People of the Sea James Wharram with Hanneke Boon Lodestar Books (2020) Related Posts DANIEL HAYS: My Old Man and the Sea and What Came After CRAZY CUSTOM CRUISING BOATS: New Rides for Pete Goss and Barry Spanier The enthusiasm for trimarans and cats in the 1960s-70s is an under-recorded part of the history of sailing. I think it’s because they were part the of counter-culture of the time (aka hippies) and the boats were not ends in themselves but part of a voyaging lifestyle- embodied by the likes of James Wharram, and Arthur Piver. I was a tangential part of that movement in the ’70s on the West Coast and it was a fabulous time. The sailing sky seemed to be unlimited and the Pacific Ocean a blue highway to a better, more integrated life. The whole scene had a lot of flaws but it was fun while it lasted! I remember when a 10 year over 60 years ago in a boatyard at hoo a plywood catermerang being built, never raw it finished, HI my name is Keith Davies and i know a man named Geoff Gatley who was a close neighbour of James in south Manchester and he helped to build one of his catamarans and then transport it down to the south coast. The reason i am telling you is he is reading People of the Sea and we were talking about his time with James bringing back happy memories . if there is any more information it would be much appreciated to remember more happy memories Hello Keith! Glad you are enjoying James’s book and found this post. As for more information, I hope I’m not the first to tell you this, but James recently passed away: https://wavetrain.net/2021/12/19/dead-guy-james-wharram/ He had a good long run. But he will be missed. Hi Charles yes. Wharram ‘s designs were a way for dreamers to become sea people. My wife and I Joined that gathering in 1976; we met Hanneka while building a Tangaroa. After two years cruising the Caribbean we vowed to build a bigger cat, using many of James’ ideas. For 10 years now, here in Florida, we have been creating a 46′ cat, and teaching apprentices boatbuilding. If anyone would like to learn more about the above, please shoot me an email. I share your fascination for James Wharram, his wonderful designs and his reluctance to live a commonplace existence. Alas his autobiography, seems out of print at this moment. @Anton: Is it? I know the first edition sold out, but I thought I heard a second had been printed, in a somewhat smaller format. I’d check the wharram website. I think Hanneke Boon may be offering them there. Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Please enable the javascript to submit this form Recent Posts DEAD GUY: Bill Butler NORTHBOUND LUNACY 2024: The Return of Capt. Cripple—Solo from the Virgins All the Way Home DEAD GUY: Donald M. Street, Jr. ELECTRIC OUTBOARDS: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus Motor Recent Comments Charles Doane on DANIEL HAYS: My Old Man and the Sea and What Came After John Stone on DANIEL HAYS: My Old Man and the Sea and What Came After Seth Rosner on The Legend of Plumbelly Charles Doane on The Legend of Plumbelly January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 September 2022 August 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 October 2009 Boats & Gear News & Views Techniques & Tactics The Lunacy Report Uncategorized Unsorted comments Article Tag: hitia 17 J ames Wharram’s Polynesian catamaran designs have inspired countless backyard boatbuilders with dreams of ocean voyaging to exotic tropical destinations. Starting with the simple 23’ TANGAROA, aboard which he completed the first catamaran crossing of the Atlantic in 1955–56, the cruising-sized vessels in his range of plans have an impressive safety record due to their conservative design parameters. Seaworthiness is the number-one priority in his designs. While ocean-voyaging catamarans have been the main focus of Wharram’s design work, his plans catalog includes a few smaller boats suitable beach cruising. The Tiki 21  that was recently profiled here in Small Boats Monthly crosses the line between the two pursuits but is still a bigger boat than many people want to build or trailer. The Hitia 17 and the Hitia 14 are based on the same hull shape and design concepts as the Tiki 21 and her larger sisters, but the Hitias are open boats. They are lighter, simpler, and less expensive to build, while retaining the sailing characteristics and performance of the cruisers. While the smaller Hitia 14 is strictly a daysailer, the Hitia 17, with its dry-storage holds and kayak-style cockpits, features real camp-cruising capability for sailors who don’t mind roughing it a bit. Taken apart for transport, the pieces of the Hitia 17 are light enough to be carried to the beach. In 1997, I chose the Hitia 17 as my first sailboat build. After many years of sea kayaking and building various kayaks and canoes, I wanted to sail to the same kinds of places I could paddle craft, but I wanted to carry more stuff, and make occasional open-water crossings at faster speeds. The Hitia 17 fit the bill, and the double-canoe design appealed to my prior experiences with seaworthy small boats. It draws only 12″, is easily beachable, and could accommodate a companion or two. It offers the possibility of camping aboard if necessary—a real plus in places like Florida’s mangrove swamps where there are no campsites. Like all Wharram catamarans, the Hitia 17 is designed for plywood construction, and the assembly method is straightforward stitch-and-glue with epoxy-fillets, taped joints, and fiberglass sheathing. The project calls for eight sheets of 1/4″ plywood and one sheet of 5/8″, as well as some straight-grained fir or spruce lumber for stringers, crossbeam parts, and mast laminates. The two hulls and three crossbeams are assembled with lashings instead of hardware. With experience, the assembly time can be cut down to under an hour. Building the Hitia 17 doesn’t require an large shop, because each hull is only 2′ wide and weighs about 90 lbs. They can be built one at a time under a minimal shelter, on one side of a garage, or, as some builders have done, even inside an apartment or house, as the hulls are slim enough to fit through standard doors, and everything can be moved outdoors and assembled in the back yard. The design book states that the build will take about 250 hours, but most builders take a bit longer if they’re shy on experience and tools or if they simply want better-than-average craftsmanship and finish. I built my Hitia 17 over the course of about seven months of spare-time work, and the result was everything I’d hoped for. As with the larger Wharram cats, the components and rig of the Hitia 17 are designed to eliminate the need to purchase a lot of expensive marine hardware. The hulls are connected to the three crossbeams with low-stretch rope lashings, and the rudders are laced to the sterns with rope hinges that are both elegant and effective. The tillers lock onto the rudderposts with no metal hardware, and the mast is secured into its step with a wooden key built onto middle crossbeam Even chainplates and mast tangs are unnecessary, as the shrouds and stays are tensioned with lanyards anchored to flat wooden cleats at the sheer at one end and looped over hounds at the masthead on the other. This Hitia 17 carries Wharram’s gaff wingsail main, with a luff sleeve for better airflow around the mast. When I built my Hitia 17, the sail plan differed from that of the Tiki designs in that it had a sprit rather than the short gaff rig of the standard Wharram wingsail. The sprit has the advantage of simplicity—one less halyard to bother with—and the sail can be brailed around the mast with the sprit in place, but in strong winds, the sprit has to be taken down. It tends to get in the way because it is as long as the boat. Now the Hitia 17 plans include the option for the gaff wingsail, and having sailed the larger Tikis with that rig, I would recommend it as it is easier to reef and offers more adjustment to the shape of the main. There is no mention of an auxiliary outboard in the building plans, and it’s certainly not necessary, as the boat can be paddled, but I added a motor mount on the aft beam and fitted a 3-hp Evinrude that often came in handy during extended periods of calm on the Gulf of Mexico. The cost of building my own Hitia 17, including the sails, outboard, and a new trailer I modified for it, came in at just under $6,000, which seemed very reasonable for such a capable catamaran. Unlike the larger Tiki 21 and Tiki 26, the Hitia 17 doesn’t require an elaborate folding trailer, but unlike many beach cats of similar length, it is too beamy at 10’11” to transport fully assembled. Wharram was uncompromising in keeping to the overall beam-to-length ratio of his proven ocean voyagers, and wouldn’t reduce the beam to 8’6”, the maximum width allowed for trailering. But since the hulls are light enough for two people to easily carry or one person to maneuver around with a two-wheeled cart, almost any trailer can carry separated hulls to the water. They could even be cartopped, although with the beams and mast to carry as well, it would require a large and quite substantial rack capable of handling a 300-lb load. I went to a little more trouble than necessary when fitting out my trailer, because I wanted to be able to assemble and launch the boat fully loaded boat by myself in one go. To accomplish this, I made two removable beams fitted with cradles to hold the hulls at sailing width. Upon arrival at the boat ramp, I secure these in place and then lift the hulls, one end at a time, into the cradles and then lash on the crossbeams and step the mast. With practice, I got my launching time down to just over half an hour. The mast rests on a crossbeam and is supported by a single shroud to each side. T he Hitia 17 is a forgiving catamaran to sail compared to most beach cats of similar length. With its generous beam and just 160 sq ft of sail area, it is a stable platform that can handle a wide variety of conditions. That’s not to say that it won’t capsize with carelessness, but it is far less likely to than the typical, more racing-oriented catamarans in that size range. Even with its conservative sail plan and relatively low rig, the Hitia 17 is still quite capable of exciting performance in the right conditions. I often clock over 10 knots, even with the hulls weighed down with camping gear. Tacking and jibing are reliable and effortless, and windward ability is certainly acceptable for a multihull designed for cruising rather than racing. The absence of daggerboards, centerboards, or leeboards somewhat limits the Hitia’s pointing ability, but is a great asset for exploring thin water that most sailboats can’t reach. Drawing only 12”, the deep-V hulls can be sailed right up onto the beach, then easily pushed back off again. On sandy beaches I could even sail in through a moderate surf break and land, just as I did in my kayaks. The rudders and the integral skegs are no deeper than the keels, making it safe to let the boat dry out at low tide. Owners who plan to beach the boat on a regular basis can easily add Kevlar strips or other reinforcements along the keels. The area between the aft and middle crossbeam is large enough to accommodate a backpacking tent for overnights at anchor. On a trip to St. Vincent Island in Appalachicola Bay, the author camped on the deck and use the front trampoline for a porch, a galley, and storage. I did several multi-day camp-cruising trips with the Hitia 17 to various barrier islands off the coasts of Florida and Mississippi. The little catamaran performed well whether I was sailing solo or with a companion. I frequently anchored out and pitched a small backpacking tent on the trampoline between the hulls, an arrangement that worked well in calm conditions. There is, however, little room to move about with the tent taking up most of the deck space, so I sometimes found it easier to camp ashore, especially when I had a companion with me. The flaring deep-V hulls give all Wharram catamarans excellent load-carrying capability for their size, and the Hitia 17 is no exception. Each hull has watertight bulkheads that segment the hull into four dry-storage compartments. Forward of the mast crossbeam, each hull has a large hold accessed through waterproof deck hatches. The plans suggest to either make wooden hatches and coamings or to purchase rubber kayak hatches. I bought a pair of large oval VCP kayak hatches for my own boat, as the foredecks can take a lot of water and spray in rough conditions. In the ’midships section between the beams, each hull has a compartment, accessible through two large hatches, to sit in kayak-style, or to use as foot wells when seated on deck. Spaces beneath these compartments offer extra dry storage for smaller items that will fit through 6” deck plates. Even when loaded with equipment and supplies for a crew of two for several days, there is room to stow lightweight, compact gear securely belowdecks. Scott B. Williams began his small-boat adventures exploring the creeks and barrier islands by canoe and kayak in his home state of Mississippi. His fascination with the potential of these simple boats led him to longer solo journeys in the Caribbean and down the Mississippi River, which he first wrote about in the pages of Sea Kayaker magazine in the early 1990s. Combining a passion for woodworking with his interest in boats led him into wooden boatbuilding and yacht carpentry while he continued writing about his adventures. He has since written 22 books (and counting), many of them survival and adventure novels which draw on his paddling, boatbuilding, and sailing experiences. Scott can be contacted through his website . Hitia 17 Particulars Beam overall/10′11″ Weight total/295 lbs Weight of single hull/90 lbs Capacity/550 lbs Rig/sprit or gaff wing-sail sloop Sail area/160 sq ft Plans for the Hitia 17 are available from James Wharram Designs for £306 (about $407USD). Is there a boat you’d like to know more about? Have you built one that you think other Small Boats Monthly readers would enjoy? Please email us! Subscribe For Full Access Flipbooks are available to paid subscribers only. Subscribe now or log in for access. James Wharram Designs Search Our Site Wharram world, a global family of sailors. The Wharram World circles the globe. Wharram catamarans have been built and are sailing in all the World's oceans and can be found in far away ports and anchorages. With over 10,000 sets of Plans sold since the 1960s this is not surprising. Many of the builders and sailors of Wharram catamarans are now writing blogs about their exploits and publishing films of their boats sailing. Many have done amazing things with their boats. Some are offering their boats for charter. This information is gathered here to share with people new to the Wharram World. Learn about what others have done, get inspired and start your own life of adventure on the sea! Boat Launch Spotlight Stories from wharram sailors. Lapita Voyage Polynesian Catamaran Association Wharram Community On The Web Short Story Competition Your Wharram catamaran helps you to connect.. The best part of our Greek adventure has been the people; the meetings; the new friends.. just wonderful. And having a Wharram catamaran really does a lot when it comes to meeting new people. Locals, fishermen, tourists... all ages.... they all get attracted to the boat. They all see it as a traditional boat, and they have so many questions. We have also had lots of old seamen and fishermen on the boat giving advice and tips on local weather and harbours. Truly amazing. We have learned a lot from these very skilled and experienced seafarers. And also here our Wharram helps; they see it as a proper seagoing ship. - Jens-Einar Storheim Tiki Odyssey From Kos to Kefalonia. Father and son, in a self-build Wharram Tiki, survive a winter passage across Greece. The call came on Thursday. "Hey, Dad. There's a weather window, all next week. It could take us all the way to Monemvasia, maybe even round the Peleponese." Our plan was to sail our self-built Wharram Tiki 26 from its birthplace in Kos to its new home in Kefalonia, a winter passage of over 400nm east to west across Greece. A compelling read. Sailing Where The Wind Takes Us Sam is a sailboat captain that takes visitors around the Seto inland Sea. Sam built his boat himself and is a very experienced sailor. He told us about his background: "My parents would go on adventures by boat. My father is from New Zealand and my mother is from Japan. My two siblings and I grew up traveling with them. Our home was a boat." After never living in one place permanently, Sam's family finally settled down on the island about 5 years ago. Melanesia Uri Aha, Queensland I was prompted to email you and let you know what a wonderful craft my Melanesia 16 has proven to be. Some of my adventures have been a little on the edge of a small canoe's capability but she hasn't let me down. Building Kiski, a school project to build a Melanesia I am a freshman at The Kiski School, an all boys private boarding school located in Pennsylvania. In my Survival Arts class this semester, we spent nearly a month piecing together the Melanesian Outrigger Canoe. The plans for the canoe were very easy to follow. The pieces all fit very well with one another to the point where we had no issues putting them together. Each of us had an enjoyable time learning how to build a boat. Building Neuro, a Hitia 14 Work began in July 2013 with the delivery of the plywood and timber: Okoume marine plywood and two large planks of Mahogany. We worked on Neuro during the weekends and during our free time after work on weekdays. We only had few machinery so we did most of the work by hand. It was the most satisfying experience to see Neuro take shape as we progressed. Storm Tactics On Wharram Catamarans Don Brazier, Wharram agent in New Zealand and owner/builder of a beautiful 41 foot Narai Mk IV, has been collecting accounts from many Wharram sailors who have experienced severe weather at sea. He himself has made a number of voyages in the Pacific and encountered severe weather, in which he deployed drogue and parachute. Letters from Tiki 46 'Peace IV' The first Tiki 46 was built by Ann and Neville Clement, two experienced single-handed ocean sailors. Upon completion they crossed the Atlantic and now make a yearly migration up and down the USA East coast. Ann has written regular updates on their travels, interesting experiences and improvements to their boat. The Katipo Voyage - Pacific Voyage On A Narai Mk4 This is an account of Don's latest voyage in the Pacific: "It was a wild, rough night but Katipo's bows rose to the large, steep phosphorescent capped waves with ease. It was like sitting on a roller coaster at a fun park but if you peered out from behind the shelter of the deck pod you were blasted by cold wind and spray." Pahi 42 Mother Ocean's Lesson In Survival "Survival is, as a matter of fact, Mother Ocean's middle name. Her talent for it is baffling: Being among an estimated 700 boats on the hard in Grenada in autumn 2004, she was one of the precious few to come out of the carnage of hurricane Ivan without visible damage, save one solar panel that came off at the height of the storm". Building And Sailing a Tiki 38 In South Africa "She had taken me 3 years to build in a warehouse in Durban, South Africa. I have not sailed a large boat single or short handed so it was with some trepidation that I took Dragon on her first cruise in December 2004 to Richards Bay." Tiki 38 'Dragon' Sails To New Zealand "Plenty of water has passed under Dragon's keels since I last wrote to you. In January 2009 Dragon and I left I our home port of Durban, South Africa for New Zealand. We had stops in St Helena, Fernando de Noronho, Forteleza and Grenada. Dragon has proved herself to be a magnificent boat." The Wharram name is legendary.. Many, many thanks for all you've done for the global sailor's world of sustainable, practical, and beautiful sailing. The Wharram name is, and will remain, legendary. - Norm The Lapita Voyage The Lapita Voyage began in 2008, when two 38ft double canoes , designed by James Wharram Designs, based on an ancient Polynesian canoe hull-form and built in the Philippines, set out on a 4,000Nm voyage along the island chains of the Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea and the Solomons. Their destination was Anuta and Tikopia , two tiny, remote islands at the Eastern end of the Santa Cruz Islands, where the boats arrived in mid March 2009 and were donated to the islanders for their future inter island voyaging. The 'Lapita Voyage' was a major expedition in Experimental Marine Archaeology. It was the first exploration by Ethnic sailing craft of one possible migration route into the Central Pacific. The voyage was made entirely under sail without motors , using traditional Polynesian crab claw sails and steering paddles. The Polynesian Catamaran Association The Polynesian Catamaran Association has been a voluntary club for people interested in the designs of James Wharram since 1967. Due to a direct request from James and Hanneke an archive of all the past PCA publications has now been created, and made available on-line. We hope you enjoy reading all 75 of The Sea People magazines! Community Discussion For all friends and sailors of Wharram Catamarans. A very active Facebook group of over 7000 members. This Facebook group has taken over where the Polynesian Catamaran Association left off. Do join them. Another very active Facebook group. Wharram Tiki design: 21' to 46'. Share your questions, thoughts, ideas, advice and stories. Sell your boat, or find a Wharram Tiki for sale. A Facebook group dedicated to the smaller catamarans in the Wharram range. Our forum is now closed to new submissions, but still contains a lot of useful information. Facebook group for the HUI Wharram gathering in Florida, United States. This association was born from the passion for sailing and the self-construction of original boats among some friends who live near Lake Bolsena. Facebook group. A photo discussion forum for Wharram Design Enthusiasts. Sales, news and blogs: A place to find information about James Wharram catamarans for sale, gatherings, launches, builds, blogs and links. This website is maintained by Boatsmith, Wharram's authorized US builder. Builders and Sailors Fueled by curiosity, our love of discovery, nature, creativity, and concerns for the current trajectory of humanity, we're gearing up for our most ambitious adventure yet - to BUILD our own Wharram Designs Narai Mk IV wooden double canoe/sailboat, creating a Floating Stories Lab and departing northern Europe as a family on a circumnavigation to discover, through science, art and storytelling, how humans can have a positive impact on our planet. We share our journey and research findings through inspiring stories. Follow the building and sailing adventures of this beautiful self build Tiki 38 - built in Poland. Photos of Wharram Hitia 17 catamaran ' Star Catcher ', by John Hughes. These photos really capture the spirit of adventure that the small coastal trekking Wharrams can offer. Following a long time dream, I set sail in April 2019 in the south of France. My new home is a 26 feet sailing catamaran built out of plywood. The boat design follows the rule: keep it as simple as possible. This has the advantage that one is closer to the ocean and also that there are fewer and cheaper repairs than usually on a sailboat. I have always been a big fan of self sufficiency, liked being outside of the main stream, and loved DIY projects. My mind got set for another big adventure that I think will change my life once again. I get highly excited about it and will be writing about it in more details here. Melanesia being built at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) as a practical example of outrigger canoe building. Building, sailing and maintaining Hitia 17 'Lilla My'. A great step-by-step picture blog. Dedari Nyuh Kuning was built in the village of Nyuh Kuning on the beautiful island of Bail. It's a Wharram Hitia 17, a 17 foot Polynesian style catamaran in stitch and glue technique. Documenting the construction and sailing adventures of a Hitia 17 beach cruising catamaran. Shaun converted his Tahiti Wayfarer outrigger canoe 'Wilber' into a double canoe and travels around the Gulf intracoastal waterway. Photo blog of assembling and launching Tiki 21 'Itatae'. Adventures of a Small Green Catamaran. Construction and voyages of a Tiki 21 in the Pacific northwest, USA. A blog on sailing and maintaining a Tiki 21, San Francisco Bay. Brad's writings about building and sailing 'Beto'. Picture blog of the restoration and sailing of Hinemoa 'Tuatara', New Zealand. Building a beautiful Tiki 26 in the Philippines. Documenting the construction of a Tiki 26. In Portuguese. Building a Tiki 26 in Mississippi, USA. The construction and sailing of Tiki 26 'Tsunamichaser' in the Pacific north west, USA. The story so far of Anette and Manne Gehrken and their Tiki 30 in Greece. Rogerio's account of building 'TikiRio'. In Portuguese. Photos of building and sailing Tiki 31 'JoJo'. Also included is information on building costs, equipment and materials, as well as logbooks. Building a Tiki 31 in Crete. Life on a self built Tiki 38 catamaran, built in England. Aluna is a Tiki 38 built in California by Beat Rettenmund. He is using a Crabclaw rig. Diary of a first time boat builder in Kent, England. A build project in Canada. Building a Pahi 42 in 18 months and sailing her in the middle east during the first Gulf war. Documenting the building of a Tiki 46, France. Projects and Expeditions Hecate is crewed by a family of Sailors, Surfers, Adventurers, Artists and Teachers. Our combined lifetimes of exploration, learning and experience, enable us to offer clients unique tailored charters and expedition support. Between us we have crossed the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. We have surfed and dived on uncharted reefs in the depths of an Irish winter, and in the balmy tropics of Indonesia, Hawaii, the Galapagos, the Carribean - and innumerable places in between. A home built Tiki 21 with a mission: clean plastic litter from the sea. 'Itatae' was built in Estonia and now sails in Croatia. Also includes a blog about the building process. Rory McDougall entered Tiki 21 'Cookie' into the single-handed trans Atlantic 'Jester Challenge' 2010. You can follow progress on this blog site. Rory McDougall discusses his solo circumnavigation of the world in Tiki 21 'Cooking Fat' in this series of audio podcasts. Captain Kiko Johnson is a sailor and experienced boat builder specializing in traditional Hawaiian canoes made by hand. He is building one of the Child of the Sea - Tama Moana designs. First expedition following the migration route of the ancient polynesians on two Wharram ethnic 'Tama Moana' designs. James Wharram and Hanneke Boon were part of this voyage from the Philippines to Tikopia and Anuta. In English and German. Largyalo is an enlarged Pahi 63, she is bound for a round-the-world voyage of several years. Universities and Institutes are invited to engage and accompany research projects. Due to her self-sufficient energy supply system, this vessel represents an ideal setting for environmental projects. In English and German. Organisation monitoring the health of the oceans and reefs of the world. Will be using an Islander 65 as mothership when enough finances have been raised. Invites other Wharram cat owners to join. Planet Ocean is the latest project of Sonja Napetschnig and Tom Puchner. They have enabled thousands of students and young people to discover and learn to love and respect the sea. At the heart of Planet Ocean is our 52ft Wharram catamaran - the only carbon neutral, self sufficient, noiseless diving boat in the world. Exploring the coast and islands of the curious Sea of Cortez on a Tahiti Wayfarer - to get to know the waters, landscapes, wildlife, and people that make the area so special. Dragongate is now telling the story of a family sailing adventure aboard a Wharram 26' Pahi across North America (by trailer) through Florida, across the Gulf Stream and through the Bahamas. Blog by live-aboard sailors of Tiki 31 'Kahuna' in Brazil. In Portuguese. Follow Glenn Tieman's solo adventures around the Pacific on his self built Wharram ethnic boat 'Tama Moana'. Follow Peter, Alexandra and their son Finn on their round the world voyage on a 40' Narai Mk IV. In German. Blog of a liveaboard family's experiences sailing the world. In French. Follow the adventures of Ariki 'Piggy' from Vancouver Island to Hawaii, south to Tahiti/French Polynesia, and across Polynesia to New Zealand. The Tiki 38 'Mon Tiki' eco catamaran project is a self-sustaining, for profit business serving the summer visitors to Montauk. Sail Beluga provides a uniquely personal and relaxing way to experience the turquoise waters and white sandy beaches of the Turks & Caicos Islands. Beluga is a 40ft sailing catamaran available for half and full day private charter experiences from Providenciales. What could be more romantic than sailing in the tropics on your own private catamaran? Catalpa is a beautifully built Pahi 42. Cyril and Manon run day charters out of Port Louis in Guadeloupe. They can take small or bigger groups of people for day sails with lunch. Hanneke has sailed on Catalpa on one of their day charters and can recommend it. If you are on holiday in Guadeloupe and would like to experience sailing a Pahi 42, this is an ideal opportunity. Catalpa was built in Germany in 1995 to a very high standard. Photographs of her taken in 2003 in Corfu can be seen in our gallery . Join us on 'Taboo' and enjoy a morning full of discoveries on the north coast of Moorea. You'll be guided trough the unmistakable Cook and Opunohu bays to admire their lush tropical vegetation. You'll enjoy the tranquility, gliding over the various shades of the blue lagoon, navigating along the reef for a panoramic view of Moorea. Cruise on a Wharram Pahi 42. If you like the idea of a yacht charter during which you will find uncrowded cruising grounds, a great variety of stunning scenery, a balmy tropical climate, blue water, white sandy beaches, brilliant snorkeling, fabulous food, a very friendly welcoming population and lots more, then you really should consider a sailing charter on the Andaman coast of Thailand. Sailing around the archipelago of Lamu, between beautiful wild islands, lagoons and coral reefs, on a Wharram Pahi 63 'Kaskazi'. This is a special boat.- The deck space is awesome and the wood work is amazing. Ideal for day trips, dinners, lunchs, sunsets, parties and much more. The pro crew is included, bathroom is big and super comfortable... the kitchen is big, and the sound is excellent. This is a special boat - The deck space is awesome and the wood work is amazing. Ideal for day trips, dinners, lunchs, sunsets, parties and much more. The pro crew is included, bathroom is big and super comfortable... the kitchen is big, and the sound is excellent. Surfing, kiteboarding, spearfishing, scuba diving, snorkeling and day trips! Respect for the brilliance of a holistic approach in Wharram design.. Hello, the purpose of this email is to express my respect and compliments to James and Hanneke. I have been researching their designs for two years now and I have read many blogs and comments and seen many pictures and videos from builders and sailors. I recently received building plans for a Tiki 26 #454. I bought my first sailing Dinghy when I was 14 years old and now that I am 62 I am still sailing nearly everyday in my Prindle 15 or my Tornado catamaran on the northsea coast at Ter Heijde about 5km north of Hoek van Holland in The Netherlands. I understand sailing boats and catamarans better than nearly everyone around me and so I understand the many challenges and pitfalls and scams in designs. Reading on the internet I see even experienced builders lack the knowledge to fully respect the brilliance of a holistic approach in design architecture and the high standards of safety in the Wharram designs. Therefore I wish to express my gratitude and respect to James and Hanneke. - Alfred Daniels The Short Story Competition In 2004, we ran a storing writing competition. Due to the very high standard of most of the entries submitted, the three finalists were very close in the final scores. Therefore, after much deliberation, we decided to award prizes to all three finalists for their excellent stories. The winner's prize was awarded to the two entries that tied for first place and a 'runner up' prize to the story that scored so close to the winners. Winner #1 - Thomas Hembroff, Canada For his outstanding story: ' Stick To The Plans '. Congratulations Tom, you have awarded one of two winner's prizes: a set of Tiki 21 Building Plans and a Winner's Award Certificate signed by Ruth Wharram. Tom's story ' Stick to the Plans ', is set in the 1970's during the 'shakedown' voyage of the Ariki 'Piggy'. Tom and his brother Don, after having completed the building of their boat they set off on a voyage around the world. All goes well and they pick up a hitchhiker, an artist, who wants a ride to their next destination, New Zealand. The voyage to New Zealand is a very dramatic and dangerous leg of their journey. The fact that their fate hangs on a knife edge is revealed through the reactions of their artistic passenger. Read this well-crafted story to share the excitement of this harrowing voyage. Winner #2 - Loretta M. Thwaite, Australia For her outstanding story: ' The Wharram Hunt '. Congratulations Loretta, you have been awarded the other winner's prize: a set of Tiki 21 Building Plans and a Winner's Award Certificate signed by Ruth Wharram. Loretta's story ' The Wharram Hunt ' is a set in a small coastal town on tropical Queensland, Australia. The story is told in an amusing and sensitive way of a woman, who having settled in this town, is invited out for a cruise by a middle-aged friend and his two buddies. She is not overly impressed by the comfortable cruise on the pleasure craft, but is subsequently introduced to a new perspective on boats by another friend who dreams of building a Wharram. The intriguing story then unfolds of the 'hunt' for a glimpse of a finished Wharram so that the dream can be distilled into the purchase of a set of plans and the commencement of the building of a Polynesian catamaran. On the way friendship blossoms into something much deeper as the two go about fulfilling the shared ideal of a life together with a future vision of a sailing life aboard their very own Tangaroa. Winner #3 - Rhisiart Gwilym, USA The judges have decided to award a further 'Runner Up' prize for the excellent story: ' The Ice Bears And The Bees '. Congratulations Rhisiart, you have been awarded the runner up prize: a set of Melanesia Outrigger Building Plans and an Award Certificate signed by Ruth Wharram. Rhisiart's story ' The Ice-Bears and the Bees ' is a set sometime in the future in a post oil-energy based world. The writer cleverly weaves the story of the coastal sailing community of the future into the story, narrated by an older member of the clan, about a trading voyage to lands where the clan has negotiated treaties for bee hive farms and the trading partners take their share of the harvest to trade for other goods. The tale of a young visionary member of the clan and his revolutionary new craft is woven into the main story. The voyage culminates in the visit to the land of the magical ice bears where the species is being nutured back from extinction under the custodianship of a myserious hermit. The theme of the revitalising of the natural world is symbolised by two events: the birth of a child to the young man's lover in the land of the ice bears and the release of bears back into the lands of the world. A good read. There were ten entries received for the competition most of a very high standard. Thanks very much to all those that sent in their stories. The judges for this competition were: Ruth Wharram , Steve Goodman (former JWD Webmaster) and Jennifer Weissel (Author of Running Down Rawana ). 303 IMAGES Wharram Style Catamaran Trailer Sailer for Sale in CEDAR CREEK Element: A Wharram Tiki 21 Catamaran Element: A Wharram Tiki 21 Catamaran: More Launching Photos Pin on Wharram Catamarans James Wharram Designs A 17 Foot Hand Built Jamie Wharram Hita 17 Inter Island Catamaran And VIDEO Wharram Tane filmed from farrier 720 trimaran @ ijzelmeer Wharram catamaran Fandango the big reveal LASHING BEAM #1 Fixing Flex in a Worn-Out Boat Trailer Frame by Throwing More Metal At It Wharram catamaran Fandango Secrets to Creating a Cozy #Wharram COMMENTS Mana 24 MANA's 23'6" hull length has a special significance for James Wharram. In 1956 he made the first successful catamaran voyage across the Atlantic in his first catamaran, the 'Tangaroa', also 23'6" long. In trailer/sailer design every increase in length equals harder launching and recovery work. At 23'6"- 7.15m hull length MANA 24 sits between ... Mana 24: A new trailer sailor in the pipeline All these ideas have come together, resulting in the new MANA 24 design, a catamaran specifically designed for trailer sailing. In trailer/sailer design every increase in length equals harder launching and recovery work. At 23'6"- 7.15m hull length MANA 24 sits between our TIKI 21 and TIKI 26 designs (both very popular trailer sailers ... Tiki 30 Catamaran: A Practical Sailor Boat Test The Wharram Tiki design was a natural choice for Dave because the designer has always approached his work from a builder/sailor perspective, rather than as an independent exercise in naval architecture. Simplicity and practicality rule, and in many ways these boats are the extreme opposite of whats displayed at boat shows across the country. Building the ultimate 'trailer sailer' with epoxy Mana 24 will sit in the middle of the James Wharram Designs' Coastal Trek range. It is specifically designed as a 'trailer sailer' - a small, lightweight boat that can easily be stored at home (thus avoiding costly mooring fees) and taken to the water by trailer. It will be offered as a kit of pre-cut plywood parts and accompanying ... Hitia 17 While ocean-voyaging catamarans have been the main focus of Wharram's design work, his plans catalog includes a few smaller boats suitable beach cruising. The Tiki 21 that was recently profiled here in Small Boats Monthly crosses the line between the two pursuits but is still a bigger boat than many people want to build or trailer. The Hitia 17 and the Hitia 14 are based on the same hull ... Review of a Wharram Catamaran Posts: 41. Review of a Wharram Catamaran. Dear Forum: I have looked at a Wharram Catamaran, namely the tiki 38, that I have thought about building and then living on it in retirement. This way I can do what really brings me inner peace, sailing, and live on the boat too. I have looked at the wharram site and their builders as well. James Wharram Designs The quality of the Wharram self-build catamarans is reflected in their popularity, excellence of craftmanship and sound sailing qualities. More than 50 years on - with over 10,000 sets of plans sold and thousands turned into proud vessels - Wharram 'Cats' can be seen in harbours across the world, maintaining the highest reputation for surviving ... tiki 21 Archives While ocean-voyaging catamarans have been the main focus of Wharram's design work, his plans catalog includes a few smaller boats suitable beach cruising. The Tiki 21 that was recently profiled here in Small Boats Monthly crosses the line between the two pursuits but is still a bigger boat than many people want to build or trailer. The Hitia ... Proa File James Wharram Designs has a new boat on the drawing board, a 24' trailerable catamaran that slots nicely between the venerable Tiki 21 and 26. The Mana 24 features some new wrinkles in the Wharram design evolution spiral, most noticeably a chined hull. The new design also features a cat ketch rig, which is well known on trailerable monohulls ... Choosing a 21' to 27' Wharram Catamaran Design Choosing a 21' to 27' Wharram Catamaran Design. James Wharram Designs has been very productive since the first transAtlantic voyage by a Wharram double canoe in the 1950's. Unfortunately this has resulted in a glut of beautiful designs in the 21 to 27 feet range. These include: the Coastal Trekkers Tiki 21 and 26, the Classic Hinemoa and Take ... James Wharram: life and legacy of the iconic designer Falmouth, Cornwall, 1955: a legend is born along Customs House Quay. A smartly dressed young man with wild, curly hair has launched a 23ft catamaran, built in just a few months for the modest sum ... 30 months on a 26 feet sailing boat I am super happy to talk about my journey on «Wayan», a Tiki26 sailing catamaran. This Video is a recording of slightly adapted powerpoint I presented in sev... James Wharram This was the first west-to-east crossing of the Atlantic by catamaran or multihull. The story was told by Wharram in the 1969 book Two Girls Two Catamarans. [7] From 1973 Wharram was assisted by his co-designer Hanneke Boon. [8] In 1987-92 James and his partners built a new flagship, the 63-foot catamaran Spirit of Gaia, which they sailed into ... Self Build Boats Everything you need to build your own sea-going catamaran: 3 steps. Familiarise yourself with our range of designs and their unique qualities. For more detailed information read the Wharram Design Book which reviews each self-build boat model and offers a detailed introduction and understanding of the world of self-build catamarans.; Order one or more sets of our Study Plans and immerse ... Tiki 36, Wharram design catamaran The Tiki 30 is one of Wharram's best sailing designs. He does refer to it as a backpacking boat. It also is a 30' sailboat that has a cockpit that seats 10 easily. It also is a very comfortable seagoing boat that will fit onto a trailer or into a container and be transported anywhere in the world cheaply. Wharram sailboats for sale by owner. Wharram preowned sailboats for sale by owner. Wharram used sailboats for sale by owner. ... 43' CSK Catamarans Polycon Cabrillo way Marina, California Asking $115,000. 46' Bleu Marine Blue Moon 46 ... Asking $4,400. 14' 2024 Sunfish - SOL by Sero Innovation & includes 2023 Yacht Club Trailer Rochester, New York Asking $5,700. 22'-6' Chesapeake ... WHARRAM PAHI 42: A Polynesian Catamaran The catamaran designs that British multihull pioneer James Wharram first created for amateur boatbuilders in the mid-1960s were influenced by the boats he built and voyaged upon during the 1950s. These "Classic" designs, as Wharram termed them, feature slab-sided, double-ended, V-bottomed plywood hulls with very flat sheerlines and simple triangular sections. Pahi 52 Ocean cruiser charter Double Canoe / Catamaran, designed by James Wharram and Hanneke Boon. The Pahi 52 can be the ideal ocean cruiser or built to be a perfect charter yacht. Originally designed with a simple 'Flexispace' interior, some have been fitted out with well-appointed cabins and bathrooms. Pahi 52 Study Plan Pahi 52 Photos Pahi 52 Videos The first Pahi 52 built by JAMES WHARRAM: His New Autobiography Lit Bits. Dec. 18/2020: James Wharram, who first came to notice back in the 1950s after sailing a crude homemade catamaran across the Atlantic from England to Trinidad with two occasionally (and famously) unclad women, has cut a unique trail through the firmament of modern yacht design. He has always planted his flag far outside the boundaries ... hitia 17 Archives While ocean-voyaging catamarans have been the main focus of Wharram's design work, his plans catalog includes a few smaller boats suitable beach cruising. The Tiki 21 that was recently profiled here in Small Boats Monthly crosses the line between the two pursuits but is still a bigger boat than many people want to build or trailer. The Hitia ... Review of a Wharram Catamaran Hi! I own a Wharram Pahi 42. We bought her about 10 years ago now from the original owner/builder. I'd always dreamed of building a wharram, but as other posters have said, you can buy a used one usually much cheaper, and you get on the water immediately. But unless you get a really good one, you will likely spend a LOT of time fixing her up, and a lot of money upgrading sails and equipment ... About James Wharram Designs James Wharram was the pioneer of offshore multihulls, making his first Atlantic crossing by catamaran in 1956 and the first ever North Atlantic West-to-East crossing by multihull in 1959. He started designing for self-builders in 1965. In 1973 Hanneke Boon joined him and became his co-designer. Wharram World A Global Family Of Sailors The Wharram World circles the globe. Wharram catamarans have been built and are sailing in all the World's oceans and can be found in far away ports and anchorages. With over 10,000 sets of Plans sold since the 1960s this is not surprising. Many of the builders and sailors of Wharram catamarans are now writing blogs about their exploits and catamaran gulet motorboat powerboat riverboat sailboat trimaran yacht