Small Cat - Which One?

[barnakiel]

Seen Polaris (SunRise? 35 or 6'). Cool - small, simple, well made.

b.

[creakyboy]

Originally Posted by peterfynn

If you are serious about building and you are looking at flat panel type construction and you want proven designs, then I would suggest you take a serious look at the Wharram Cats. The Tiki 31 (James Wharram Designs -Home of the self-build Catamaran.) might be an answer, but would be too small for a trip to the Caribbean. Remember, a boat that is twice as long takes 4 times as much material and will weight 8 times as much (more or less!). It really depends on how much work you are prepared to do yourself and what materials you can buy. The Wharram website gives really good estimates of requirements to build - materials, costs, time, etc. I would suggest a visit to his site before you make a final decision.

Naaah Tiki 31 aint too small an nooo I'm not biased

Rory McDougal (sp) circumnavigated in a Tiki 21 (not a typo twas a 21) an the 31 has loads more space (My first cruising boat was a T21)

[barnakiel]

Which one to build?

A sailing friend of mine built a Tiki and she was his first cruising platform in the Med. Now he has a small mono.

His comments on Tiki:
- easy to build (two years afterhours, about 2000 hrs, amateur builder),
- the driver is too exposed - big issue on any longer passage,
- to cramped.

We have one of the 'polynesian' style Wharrams here - she looks OK, but I would not try unless one is a boatbuilder, and a good one too. She has a cuddy which I hope migh make the exposure issue less painfull.

On the other hand, if I were to build/buy a Tiki say in the West Indies with the target of cruising and living there, I would place it before a same size mono - sailed both types and the cats are always better in the anchorage (if more expensive in marinas).

b.

[edlithgow]

Woods Gypsy? Bit smaller but IIRC has standing headroom all over. Doesn't have a bridge-deck as such but the deck "pod" seems to offer similar functionality, and you'd have the option of modular build, perhaps initially building podless to get it on the water.

You must have considered that. Just wondering why you rejected it. Not fast enough?

[shnean66]

Originally Posted by edlithgow

Woods Gypsy?
...
You must have considered that. Just wondering why you rejected it. Not fast enough?

I don't really buy into speed predictions so this was not a primary concern.

The Gypsy should come out at about the same weight and build time as the KD860 but has much less interior volume, e.g. no real double bunks.

The pod combines the worst of both worlds: You get the windage of a bridgedeck cabin but you don't get the benefits, e.g. you get wet if you need to cross between hulls / pod which happens frequently if only to pee.