Take a Tiki Around the World ?

[Aussie_Sequoia]

Forgive my ignorance. My sailing experience has always been with monohull boats.

Can a Wharram Tiki really be considered a serious blue water cruising boat?

I have to admit that I really like the look of them (I used to live in Fiji and they remind me of Polynesian outriggers there)... and they seem to always come up cheaper than other cats - even professionally built and well maintained vessels.

I just cant get over the fact that they look a bit like a toy boat that is lashed together. It scares me to think about being on one with my family in bad conditions. Anyone done this?

They are always touted as cruising cats and I know they have a long history... I just thought I'd query the forum for personal experience

[James S]

The short answer is yes...they've been successfully sailed the word over.
Ariki catamaran: First Wharram cat to sail around the world

But its as much to do with the competence of the crew.
Link to a good Wharram forum The James Wharram Catamaran Forums - Tiki 38 or Pahi 42?
Example...would you consider the Titanic a serious blue water boat.

[boatsmith]

I don't know this but would not be at all surprised if Wharram cats have been around more than any other design. His design philosophy favors very seaworthy features such as lot's of hull flare and large overhangs and small sail areas on short rigs with minimal deck houses and decks that let water flow through. Detractors don't like the relatively small interiors for a given length and the relatively poor windward performance.

[Pete7]

Why don't they point to windward very well?

Pete

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Aussie_Sequoia

look a bit like a toy boat that is lashed together. It scares me to think about being on one with my family in bad conditions. Anyone done this?

Its very difficult for famililes to stay together during a long cruise if one member of the couple (or the child) is terrified.

What may look to you like a toy may look to your wife as a lethal joke. After one bad passge she might just fly home and find another man.

So you would be ok with your toy by yourself?

Instead of thinking about what you would like, ask her what she would like.


Mark

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Why don't they point to windward very well?

Pete

They actually "point" high, they just "side slip". I used to get around this by sailing mine for a point on the horizon 10 degrees upwind of my destination. (in my early 20s)... I didn't realize that this was not like all boats, until I cruised on a friends Searunner trimaran. I was amazed to see the Searunner go where I pointed it!

The reason Wharrams side slip, is that they have no centerboards or daggerboards for lateral resistance. Keels would have been a second choice to boards, but with deep Veed hulls already, adding keels large enough to be effective, would've made for too much draft.

Wharrams are designed in a place with huge tides, where boats often sit on the bottom at low tide. They are great for this, very utilitarian, and fine for "off the wind" cruises. The circumnavigators that I know, unlike island hoppers, fairly seldom go to windward.

The newer Tikis, are a bit better to windward than my old "classic design" was, and if it is a larger Tiki, with a deck pod, it is a viable alternative for major cruising... for young, tough people who don't mind a bit of "roughing it".

The accommodations being in separate hulls, with galley on one side and nav station on the other, is a bit problematic. Otherwise, they're fine sea boats.

M.