Tiki 36

[boatsmith]

A new design that Hanneke and I are discussing. She of course likes the wingsail rig while I prefer the more contemporary set up.


comments?

[CastOff]

Wingsail rig looks like a PITA to deal with, as in trying to drop it down to reef. The friction on the part of the sail wrapped around the mast in a serious blow seems as if it would be significant.

Also, beam to length ratio seems a bit narrow to my eye, looks to be about 1/3rd the length w/o knowing the specs.

[boatsmith]

I prefer full batten big roach marconi mainsail as well. LOA36' BOA19'8" beach hull 4'9" Weight 4400 lbs SA 630 sq ft working.

[Abaco]

I have been on several boats that David has built (Tiki 30 & 26), and have talked to him at length about this one. David builds a very high quality boat and would be a pleasure to work with as a builder on a project like this. David combines the very "old school" design elements of the Wharram, with the modern elements of sailing tech. such as synthetic rigging, square top main, bow sprit, etc., to make a very cool hybrid. It seems to me that a boat like this should find a place in the market because there really isn't anything else like it.

All the best David.

[DaveOnCudjoe]

I am a huge fan of the classic multihull designs but one must respect the design philosophies of the time. There is not enough reserve bouancy to carry a bowsprit nor enough righting moment for a square top main. the Wharrams are voyaging designs not performance designs and I can't think of a single design less suitable for those modifications. There are implications far beyond the obvious that must be respected when modifying the work of such a respected designer. Look at the CSK derived Poly Con ( Polinesian Concept ) 36 as an alternative.IMHO, Dave

[cchesley]

I am sure that the Tiki 36 would be a great little boat especially as built by David. I'd vote on the wingsail rig. Wharram's are one of the few catamaran designs/types that retain a 'traditional' flavor or a wooden boat with the advantages of a multihull. I would really like to be able to combine traditonal aesthetics with modern multihull thinking. However, I can't quite accept the deep, double-ended nature of Wharrams from a technical point of view (wetted surface, pitching, etc). But there are many out there sailing quite successfully and presumably their owners are happy. The 'ship' nautre of the Pahi 42, 52, and especially 63 call out to me.

The bad news? The Admiral would never accept them and neither of us could/can accept the fact that passing from one hull to the other requires going 'outside'. So still my eyes wander.....

[boatsmith]

Wharram's hull shapes offer more reserve buoyancy than any others out there. The square top main has bee scrapped due to the hassle of dealing with it when putting on a sail cover. As to righting moment I believe that this is a function of mass and beam.
We have sailed a Tiki 30 for many miles in many conditions and have made these changes to capitalize on what really works on the Tiki 30 and to make changes only where we could see a clear positive benefit.
All Tiki 30s trim down aft, we added more buoyancy aft.
We have been out in 25 knot winds gusting to high 30s and never felt the need to put a reef in. We were inside the barrier islands and had we been offshore obviously we would have been more conservative. But on this day we were trying to push the boat as hard as possible and see if we could get a hull to even think about lifting. Not a chance.With main and jib we were hitting 1 knots reaching.
To me this would indicate that the boat could use more sail area. I think that it is appropriate to reef at about 15-18 knots of true wind. That would mean to me that you would have enough sail area to still be sailing when it is only blowing 5-7 knots true.
When we have pushed the Tiki 30 hard offshore, particularly going to weather we will slam the bottom of the cockpit into wave tops more often than I would like. We have raised the sheer height on the boat 12" which increases the bridge deck clearance to 32" and provides for more interior volume. While still not even approaching condomaran status it does provide for a more spacious and comfortable interior.
There are not many catamarans around in the size range between the 20' beach cats and the Maine Cat 30, the Gemini, and the Seawind. While these are great boats, certainly by the numbers that have been sold, they are quite a bit different vessel. The Tiki 36 is just an overgrown beach cat albeit with considerably less performance but with substantially more room and seaworthiness.
This boat won't appeal to everyone but there are numerous people who are very excited with this design and we expect to begin the construction of our first one soon.
We are the US builders for James Wharram Designs. We are that because we really like his boats, a lot. But we also have been racing sailboats and cruising for decades and we like to sail fast. We also like shallow water.
We don't see eye to eye with James and Hanneke on everything but have tremendous respect for their work.
We are happy to build any of their stock designs as well as to modify them. Many many Wharrams have been built with modifications and some of them are good and some not so good.That's my nickle worth for free and not worth a penny more than you paid for it.

[Dudeman]

We've owned a Wharram Pahi 31 for a few months now and really enjoy it! It's a boat that's not for everyone but the simpleness and affordability are so worth it. I've never been on a Tiki but would love to sail one someday. I love the "less is more" concept