Drawbacks of Wharram Tiki or Pahi for Extended South Pacific Cruising

[Sand crab]

Arikauai, There are Wharram Tehini hulls and parts for $25,000 with owner financing on Craigslist in Pennsylvania. He'll even rent you the space to finish the boat. 51' Wharram Tehini Catamaran incomplete owner financing available Did you get my private message? BOB

[Arikauai]

Originally Posted by witzgall

Since nobody has asked the question that first popped into my mind, I will. Why do you NEED to store the boards inside? I would think that with a little care, you could design sturdy covers that would protect the boards from UV, and could store on deck of a smaller wharram or such. Much cheaper to buy and maintain than a much larger boat.

Chris

Yeah, I could definitely do this. I prefer to have a permanent place inside the hulls to store my boards for security reasons. I want to be able to simply lock the hatches when we go off for a dive or surf or trip to shore. Otherwise I have to haul them in and out every time. Not a deal breaker. I won't purchase a boat on this criteria alone!

[farotherside]

Originally Posted by Arikauai

This surf charter 2001 custom 70' power catamaran is for sale for $225,000: 2001 Custom Power Catamaran Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Why?

I'm running across many power boats that cost less, sometimes quite a bit less, than sail boats of equal length and age. I would think the power boats, with their steel or aluminum hulls, large flybridges/ upper decks, and more equipment would be more.

easy; fuel costs.

a 10hp engine drinks about one gallon of gas per hour of use. a 100hp engine drinks ten gallons per hour.

sure that boat is fast, but with twin 420hp diesels she drinks around 80 gallons of diesel per hour at full tilt. at $3/gallon or whatever pittance you Americans are paying these days, that's still well over $200/hour to motor anywhere. not a low-budget cruise!

[farotherside]

just as a sidenote, I've dropped the idea of windsurfing completely from my plans, despite a love of the sport. I very much intend to take up kiteboarding this summer, specifically because the equipment packs up so much smaller.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Arikauai

This surf charter 2001 custom 70' power catamaran is for sale for $225,000: 2001 Custom Power Catamaran Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Why?

I'm running across many power boats that cost less, sometimes quite a bit less, than sail boats of equal length and age. I would think the power boats, with their steel or aluminum hulls, large flybridges/ upper decks, and more equipment would be more.

I was talking to a guy in Hervey Bay who was planning a trip to the Kimberlies in his power catamaran.

Even though it's reasonably efficient as big powerboats go, he was budgeting on $60,000 for fuel alone!

I'll be dissapointed if our sailing cat uses 5% of that on that trip.

That's why the big thirsty powerboats suffer so much depreciation. And fuel isn't going to get cheaper.

[Tiki 38']

There are no drawbacks! Wharrams make sense in a world gone mad....

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Tiki 38'

There are no drawbacks! Wharrams make sense in a world gone mad....

And folks wonder why we love em....

[kaimusailing]

I own a Wharram and I am a windsurfer. I have two boards on the boat and it is a problem finding a place for them. Down below is impossible without modifying the cabins. I stored them lashed down on the swimming ladder and also lashed against the center nodule which is a folded up deck table. I have 22' of deck space BEAM TO BEAM and the boat is 44' long. I can put these boards anywhere. I can rig up sails on deck and walk around them, just like on a beach. These boats have giant deck space and down below they are as nautical as German U-Boats. Get one like that Ariki so you can have livable space down below, forget camping. You can singlehand with no problem, these boats hold their course for a few minutes with no one at the helm. They will sail to windward, but for some reason most skippers sail on a favorable wind and head into port when conditions are more difficult. Every time I go out with someone visiting, they start talking about going offshore to some distant place. The best thing to do is find someone with one of these boats and volunteer as crew for a few days or just go out for a daysail. You can get a lot of pictures and information at Wharram Builders and Friends - A Photo & Discussion Forum for Wharram Design Enthusiasts Hope you find your boat.

[Arikauai]

1) Thanks for all of your above comments, re: Power cats.

2) I was looking for that Wharram blog so thanks for the link and info about the kiteboards and your vessel. I grew up surfing and diving. For me, the boat isn't the end goal but a means to an end. I am amused by the quibbles about the thrill of going 11 knots versus 8 in contrast to riding dirtbikes at 80 MPH or surfing in Hawaii... My priorities are location and fun. And as a second priority, I don't mind technology/ luxuries that I can afford.

[imagine2frolic]

Contact Pinoy Boatyard, Carmen Philippines, and most likely you can have one built to fit your exact needs for storage of boards.

I would think anything stored below reduces the chances of green water damage, and theft......i2f

[farotherside]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

I would think anything stored below reduces the chances of green water damage, and theft......i2f

not to mention UV and other weather damage...

[joenz]

The high operating costs of large powerboats are a put off. You could get a tiki 38 for the price of a couple or replacement big marine diesels. Plus they burn $$$$'s of gas. Even a very economical displacement power boat will burn 1-2g/hr or much more into a headwind or big sea.Also very few powerboats are setup for offshore or long range costal cruising.

[joenz]

Originally Posted by Arikauai

Mark, thanks .

It is my cup of tea, as I need tough hulls for beaching and high clearance for my destinations. My gear is bulky so I need space/ length thus I'm willing to sacrifice certain "Luxuries" to get that. The lack of spray protection I hope to get around by building a good dodger or larger pod. I'm not afraid of handling a big boat but, rig wise, I want my girl to be able to hoist under her own power. For this reason I'm considering a crab claw or junk rig.

Any thoughts?

Having grown up repairing surfboards, I like epoxy.

Wharram tested both the these rigs and found the junk under powered for catamarans that can go much faster than hull speed so best for displacement mono's I guess. He also found the crab claw very difficult to reef so he developed his own soft wing sail.

Secondly there would be a lot of time spent fiddling with the design and rigging of a crab claw, plus a few shake down cruises to find out your designs weak points before heading offshore. Most crab claws are mounted on proa’s. I have read it is the specific way they are installed on these boats that makes them so powerful and that they are less useful on other hull forms.

Besides ball bearing blocks (these make a huge difference!!!), batcars, self-tailing winches etc mean that the effort required handling a fractional or masthead rig is much reduced. Most of the grunt work with a conventional rig is handling the large over lapping head sails (2 speed winches overcome this problem also!), however most wharram cats use modest size cutter rigged head sails so I would save a lot of hassle and go for a proven set up. Personally I like the soft wing sail, as there is no boom to worry about in an accidental jibe. I notice the booms on a number of the wharrams are quite low so could cause serious injury if they unexpectedly swung across the deck. However this is easily and cheaply sorted by rigging a permanent boom preventer on both port and starboard sides of the boom.

[Mike w]

Originally Posted by drew23

just as a sidenote, I've dropped the idea of windsurfing completely from my plans, despite a love of the sport. I very much intend to take up kiteboarding this summer, specifically because the equipment packs up so much smaller.

I kiteboard and trust me it's more fun. You can use a 5'3" board which is small by windsurf standards and then get a Reengaged infinity. You can kite in almost no wind and haul ass. I use a Corsair 37 trimaran as the boat of choice. If you are kind of undecided on what to buy here is what I thought.
1) Buy used and has a good resale value. This is key. Every boat is a compromise but once sailing you will quickly forget about those compromises.

2) The simpler the setup the more time you will have to enjoy the other things.

3) Be honest about how many people will be on board most of the time. Don't need a bunch of guest rooms when friends are only coming out once in 2 months.

4) Make sure the major things are in good working order.

5) Can you sail it by yourself, clean it easily, dock it by yourself and easily pull it out of the water anywhere to bottom paint or repair?

After that it's all small stuff. Cover those points above and you are better off than most.

Just my 2 cent.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Mike w

3) Be honest about how many people will be on board most of the time. Don't need a bunch of guest rooms when friends are only coming out once in 2 months.

Personally I would never buy a boat based around the needs of guests (freinds or family).

Partly(?!) because I am not a people person , but also I figure that if someone genuinely wants to spend time with me (rather than primarily seeking a freebie) they can either fit in with what I have available - or put hand in own pocket (not mine!) and use shore accomadation.