Wharram 'Eco' Cat Launch Party

[atoll]

i was pivileged to be invited to the launch yesterday of james wharram and hannaka boone's award winning "eco" catamaran "amastasi" designed for sustainable fishing.

as one as the most well know cat designers i thought these photos would be of interest to the members.

atoll

[atoll]

more info
James Wharram Designs - James Wharram Designs win Classic Boat design competition for an Eco Fishing boat.

she floats!!

[mbianka]

Atoll:
Nothing wrong with a nice simple easy to build boat design with lot's of flexibility. Thanks for posting the photos.

[James S]

Yeah thanks Atoll....Although given his reputation I was a bit surprised to see so much "cotton" in the pictures
I guess it was a chilly day.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by James S

Yeah thanks Atoll....Although given his reputation I was a bit surprised to see so much "cotton" in the pictures
I guess it was a chilly day.

at 85 james still has a twinkle in his eye!!!

[James S]

He looks damn good for 85.

[Doodles]

I'm a big fan of JW and love all his boats but I don't get the "sustainable fishing" angle? Who is he marketing the new model to ... fishermen?

atoll, what was the cost to build estimate?

[atoll]

re doodles
i belive the design is aimed at island communities in the 3rd world,and here in the eu to avoid licencing laws in the eu for commercial fishermen.
and rising fuel costs.

quote"The July issue of Classic Boat magazine features the winners of this year’s design competition for an Eco Fishing Boat.

They wrote: “The brief was for an under 10m boat that would not need a license for fishing under sail or oar. Many entries nodded to traditional types, but the winner was surprisingly radical.”

built in 6mm ply and epoxy including the sail's but excluding labour i would estimate
£ 4000 though i didnt ask,but will the next time i speak to them.

[Butler]

Thanks Atoll!
His boats have tempted me more seriously than others to go multi-hull. I love the outside living aspect of some of his designs.
Good on him for his attempted contribution to subsistance and small scale/local fishermen, a beleagured group seriously threatened by large scale commercial fishing.

On a related note, a radical 60' plus twin engined (diesel cats) steel hulled schooner centerboad cruiser named Doree was sold last year and is now over in Fish Harbor with commercial numbers. I don't know yet what they are fishing for but they have been pretty busy and are the talk of the fleet... saving money on fuel for sure. Will try to get some pics in the next couple of days and open up a different thread.

[barnakiel]

Super cool!

A boat is a boat is a boat.

All the best to the happy owner!

Cheers,
b.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Butler

Thanks Atoll!
His boats have tempted me more seriously than others to go multi-hull. I love the outside living aspect of some of his designs.
Good on him for his attempted contribution to subsistance and small scale/local fishermen, a beleagured group seriously threatened by large scale commercial fishing.

On a related note, a radical 60' plus twin engined (diesel cats) steel hulled schooner centerboad cruiser named Doree was sold last year and is now over in Fish Harbor with commercial numbers. I don't know yet what they are fishing for but they have been pretty busy and are the talk of the fleet... saving money on fuel for sure. Will try to get some pics in the next couple of days and open up a different thread.

it would definitely improve the sustainability of fishing if vessels were only allowed to fish under sail!!!

[Cormorant]

Phil Bolger also tried to address this idea in his last few years of life, though his was a displacement-speed power fishing boat.

Phil Bolger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Large expensive complex boats demand taking a high number of fish to be economical. Simpler, lower powered, and lower cost boats can still be economical with lower fish catch rates. . . ."

Sounds good in theory at least. I suspect that even if the whole world went over to eco- fishing boats, the competition among them, and the building of greater numbers of cheaper boats, would still lead to overfishing. It all boils down to the ratio between "people on earth" vs. "fish in the sea."

[atoll]

xmas greetings from the wharram family

[cat man do]

Where or why does the "eco" bit come into it?

Epoxy is not ecological friendly, nor is cutting down trees or manufacturing paints and anti fouls.

What makes this vessel any more "eco" than any other vessel constructed from the same materials?

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Butler

Thanks Atoll!
His boats have tempted me more seriously than others to go multi-hull. I love the outside living aspect of some of his designs.

Great in theory
Not so good in reality,
Think rough weather and waves sweeping across the decks and coming up through the slats.
Think pissing down rain and windy for days on end.
Think blazing sun and skin cancer.