A Third Act on Two Hulls

Even in the Maine fog, Dave Martin’s home-built Tiki 30 offers beckons with the promise of sub-tropical adventures. James Wharram’s Tiki 30 draws two seasoned sailors back to sea.

art of the designer the Tiki 30—is part of the Coastal Trek of the other Wharram cats, are best suit- PJames Wharram’s success story series. These study plans afford greater ed to cruisers willing to slip away without lies in the lifestyle he has been market- specific detail about Wharram designs huge battery banks, large-volume water ing along with his boats. For decades, and spell out the materials needed. They tanks, and with less mechanical propul- like fellow cat-cult heroes Arthur Piver also lead you through a materials tally sion reliance. There’s little sense in fit- and Jim Brown, he has launched peo- that includes details about epoxy resin, ting granite countertops and aiming for ple as well as boats on voyages of dis- plywood types, sails, hardware, lines, a monohull-like interior in the limited covery. He pitches the case for Spartan an outboard auxiliary, and other bits space available aboard these . simplicity and self-reliance and backs and pieces. it up with a forthright and savvy boat- Once you have figured out where you One Particular Tiki building syllabus. His is the anathema can come up with an average of 900 Occasionally, we take a close look at a of the ferro-cement craze, more of a hours of free time—Wharram’s DIY non-mainstream vessel, believing that “do with less” rather than “load her labor estimate—you may be close to the old adage “one size fits all” has less up” mindset. He sells his ideas as ef- plunking down $1,000 for detailed build- merit among sailors. And near the fectively as any self-help telemarketer, ing plans. Those who take the leap and top of our “cult and his elixir to cure a mundane life create their boat from scratch say it was following” list ashore makes much more sense. worth the investment. Those who also of are Those who drop in on Wharram’s complete the voyage they dreamed about the Wharram- website www.wharram.com are en- have even more good things to say about designed fleet of couraged to buy a pithy, 72-page book the “Wharram Way.” catamarans that that’s an unabashed advertisement for “Living on the sea” is one of are built by dedi- Wharram’s boats, the practicality of his Wharram’s favorite phrases, and in cated do-it-your- approach, and the need to shrug off sho- many ways, he’s as much a en- selfers as well as reside claptrap and clutter when going abler as he is a boat designer. Like Brown, professionals.

Photos by Ralph except where by noted Naranjo, Photos to sea. This diehard pitch in support of and his lure of “Seasteading,” Wharram When we heard adventure is infectious, and Wharram dangles a mostly realistic getaway plan that voyager/ spells out how a handy, but not profes- in front of potential clients. The price boatbuilder Dave sionally trained, do-it-yourselfer can point is attractive, at least as long as one succeed with his designs. views the labor commitment as part of The semi-hooked can order “study the recreational experience. But when all Lashings tie the plans” of one or more of the Wharram the glue and paint has finally cured, the cross beams to the lines, and the subject of this review— bottom line is that the Tiki 30, and most amas.

practical sailor November 2010 9 INTERIOR NOTES tiki 30

Life aboard a Tiki 30 is simple. Most activities like cooking, reading, bathing, even sleeping take place in the large cockpit. A portable camp stove (top left) heats water for coffee. Just to the right of the stove is a small sink—and even it is made of epoxy- sealed plywood. The amas (below left) are fine for light gear, sails, and a guitar, but loading them with heavy tools and equipment can severely hinder the boat’s ability. The amas also provide berths at sea or in wet weather at anchor.

Martin had just finished a Wharram The Martins exemplify voyaging tenacity, and the building of Dave and Jaja’s dream Tiki 30, we knew that the timing was but they earn even higher marks for their house. For most of us, this would relegate right for a look at a unique vessel, its self-reliance. There’s no sponsorships for the boat project to pipedream status, a crew, and the designer. their adventures, or independent wealth project that would likely never be started. to fuel a whim. They have taken very But for the Martins, in just over a half- A Rare breed modest vessels and turned them into dozen years, the trifecta was complete. Dave and Jaja Martin and their three passage-making vehicles able to handle The tide has turned, and their family children are among the rarest breed the task at hand. They worked their way life proceeds with a shoreside cadence. of family cruisers, a couple who have around the world and met the locals as Adolescents are becoming young adults, sailed and savored the razor-thin edge participants in their culture rather than and the Maine woods rather than a blue between high risk and even higher re- as spectators. horizon dominate the picture. But true to ward. Twenty-plus years ago, when Dave Having first met Dave in the Bahamas form, as soon as the house was finished,

sailed off in his completely restructured in 1984 and coaxed him to come work in the table saw gathered no rust. Nor did Photo, Martin Dave of top right, courtesy and highly modified Cal 25 Direction, he a boatyard that Practical Sailor Techni- the other tools in the woodshop, as Dave found that single-handing held little ap- cal Editor Ralph Naranjo was running began cutting carefully scribed curves peal. So, after an Atlantic crossing and on Long Island Sound, Naranjo had the on Okume plywood. One-at-a-time the a Caribbean wedding, he and Jaja fol- good fortune of seeing how seafaring amas for a 30-foot Tiki filled the extended lowed the tradewind route around the goals and a shipwright’s set of skills can garage boat shop. The choice of a double- world. The singlehander was now part set the stage for special cruising oppor- hulled canoe catamaran doesn’t surprise of a family of five that had outgrown tunities. anyone who knows Dave and Jaja. As sail- their . So with a Cal 25 Act 3 in the Martin saga is like a sym- ing adventurers, they have yet to sing the circumnavigation astern, thoughts of a phony with a major change in cadence. same song twice. next boat began to take shape. This time, priorities such as heavy weath- Gravitating toward a new mode of The curtain lifted on the second act er survivability, high-volume stowage cruising, they embraced the theme of with the Martins rebuilding a 20-year- capacity, and ice resistance were off the light displacement, efficiency under sail, old, 33-foot steel , literally tearing drawing board. In their place came pri- and simplicity. Spartan minimalism is out the interior and starting from scratch. orities such as simplicity and sailing effi- the common thread in this and the other After an 18-month refit, there came an ciency, along with the imperative that this boats of the Martin’s two exemplary voy- Arctic adventure that would carry Driver will be a “from scratch” Dave-built boat. ages. The elegance in each of these vessels and its crew to Iceland, Norway, Green- No mean feat in itself, this boat-building has little to do with opulence, and every- land, Newfoundland, and the experience endeavor was all the more impressive be- thing to do with how the boats have fit of living aboard during winters in which cause the top of the “honey-do list” was the job at hand. Simplicity, functionality, the rolling sea became as solid as granite. a cottage to live in, a shop to work from, and cost effectiveness abound, defining

10 November 2010 www.practical-sailor.com Critic’s Corner Tiki 30

Pro: Tiller steering easily Pros adapts to autopilot • Efficient, light-air sailing capabilities. • Large cockpit area for sleeping under the stars, entertaining friends. • Shoal draft for poking around the Bahamas. • Disassembles for storage/trailering.

cons • Expensive undertaking if not approached as a DIY project. Con: Amas provide only • No lifelines. basic shelter • Basic accommodations. • Limited load-carrying ability.

Pro: Twin anchor rollers

Pro: Easy-access outboard Pro: Well-organized halyard controls

the approach Dave brings to boatbuild- more from what’s not present than what’s status, the Tiki doesn’t need a cloud of ing. He still alludes to a down-the-road, found on board. No lead, no liners, and sail to deliver light-air efficiency, and larger monohull project for more ocean- no inboard engine adds up to, or more Wharram further reduces the need for ic adventure, but for now, it’s all about specifically diminishes down to, a dis- a tall spar by leveraging aspect ratio

Photo, Martin Dave of top right, courtesy quick getaways, coastal cruises, light-air placement that is so light that a low-tech, through the use of a simple gaff-rigged sailing, and shoal-draft exploration. no- small can provide mainsail. On one hand, the complica- enough drive to make way, even when tion of hoisting both a peak and throat Design details the sea surface is mirror smooth. In light halyard adds some extra complexity, but The Wharram Tiki design was a natu- zephyrs, this agile cat will tack and make the result is a higher center of effort (CE) ral choice for Dave because the designer progress to windward. Behaving like a with a lower masthead height, and when has always approached his work from a waterbug skittering across the water, the it comes to building a simple timber spar, builder/sailor perspective, rather than boat reminds the person handling the it all makes sense. Yes, a carbon spar and as an independent exercise in naval butter-smooth tiller bar how important PBO would do a better job, but architecture. Simplicity and practical- efficiency under sail can be. the cost would be more than a DIY build- ity rule, and in many ways these boats Like all , the issue of ini- er spends on all of the materials used to are the extreme opposite of what’s dis- tial stability is handled by placing the build the rest of the boat. played at boat shows across the country. source of buoyancy well away from the Every designer is concerned Instead of a living room afloat, the Tiki centerline of the vessel without creat- about racking or twisting loads induced 30 offers wood-grained camp-style ac- ing the skin drag found in a monohull in a structure as the heeling force and commodations that are enough for a with massive beam. The combination of righting moment interplay on rolling sea. weekend outing, or two-week summer a high length-to-beam ratio associated Some use massive bridgedeck structures cruises for hardy souls, but will hold with each ama, and ultralight displace- to transfer rig loads from ama to ama. little appeal to those looking for a va- ment, the Tiki 30 is a thoroughbred when The Tiki 30 incorporates three well-en- cation home afloat. it comes to efficiency and agility. gineered triangular beam structures and The real genius in this boat comes Thanks to this ultralight displacement a modern rendition of the Polynesian

practical sailor November 2010 11 Boat Review tiki 30

Tiki 30 In context Tomcat Gemini Tiki 30 9.7 105MC LOA 30’ 32’ 33’ 6” LWL 25’ 6” 31’ 6” 36’ 6” Beam 16’ 4” 16’ 12’ 10” Draft/Board Up 2’ 1” 5’/18” 5’ 6”/ 18” Displacement 2,700 lbs. 6,000 lbs. 9,600 lbs.

Sail area 300 470 540 (100 % foretriangle) sq. ft. sq. ft. sq. ft. Engine 9.9 hp. Twin 9.9 hp. 27 hp. Water Jerry jugs 35 gal. 60 gal. Fuel Jerry jug 24 gals. 36 gals. SA/D ratio 24.76 22.28 19.13 A common version of the Tiki 30 (above) has a small raised cabin be- tween the two amas. Because of its unique design, the Tiki 30 does not D/L ratio 72.69 85.7 133.9 lend itself to comparison to production boats. The Tomcat 9.7 and the Gemini 105MC (right) are two small catamarans that might interest a Price* $70,000 $154,000 $154,500 sailor who is considering a Tiki. * Median price of online search; actual prices can vary. art of lashing canoe hulls together. Care sequences of excess drag. Its long, lean Conclusion must be taken during construction to amas knife through the sea, but their The Tiki 30 is well-tailored for Spartan make sure that each beam has a flush fit ability to put up with excess weight is coastal cruising but a bit gossamer for with a well-reinforced portion of the ama minimal. More weight necessitates ad- ocean passagemaking, despite the fact deck, and that the polyester double-braid ditional buoyancy, and as the V-shaped that many have done so. Its ability to tuck line used for the lashing is tensioned to sections are submerged, significant in- into tight places, to perform admirably designer specifications. These rigidly creases in skin drag occur along with a under power with only a 9.9-horsepow- held athwartship supports may creak loss of vital freeboard. This runs contrary er long-shaft, four-stroke kicker and its in a rolling seaway, but the connection to the design attributes of the vessel and ability under sail give it high marks in our between hulls is rugged and long lasting. results in performance setbacks and poor book. For many, camper/cruiser comfort sea-keeping ability. is enough, and with the easy unfurling of Performance These fast, nimble, cost-effective cats a full cockpit awning, the boat becomes Under sail, the Tiki is an agile and re- garner a following among do-it-yourself spacious enough at anchor to fulfill the sponsive performer. It balances well, builders because they are efficient to dreams of a vacation cruise. and its V-shaped sections and long shal- build. Wharram’s streamlined approach The Tiki is indeed a versatile platform, low keel plus outboard rudders provide to construction is a comprehensive blend a pleasure to sail, and a project worth good directional stability and respon- of materials and hull-shape development tackling if you’re not too worried about sive steering. The underbody configura- that results in a strong, light structure. dollars and cents. Wharram boats’ back- tion allows the cat to be safely beached, The expedited build process is free of fin- yard-built pedigrees and their fringe ap- and the complexity of dagger boards is icky labor-intensive work and costly es- peal make them a tough sell on the used eliminated. The lack of daggerboards oteric materials. In essence, Wharram’s boat market, so if you plan to build one, has its drawback: There’s less windward approach uses a minimal strong back, a you had better plan to sail it. capability, but the V-shaped hulls and stitch-and-glue joining process, and lines long run of shallow keel does pretty well that allow large scarf-joined panels of Contacts to windward without them. high-quality marine plywood to be bent Perhaps the most rigid design char- into the shape of a double-canoe cata- James wharram Design, acteristic that can’t be circumvented is maran. Bulkheads act as the athwartship www.wharram.com the importance of keeping its payload in formers, and as Wharram puts it, the Boatsmith, 561/744-0855, check. This is a boat designed to stay on builder uses a thickened epoxy filleting www.boatsmithfl.com its lines not bog down and suffer the con- compound to “weld” the wood together.

12 November 2010 www.practical-sailor.com