Wharram's catamarans: tropical dream, nightmare at 50ºN, 2ºW?

Greenheart

Greenheart

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I first encountered James Wharram's designs in the August 1986 Yachting World article about the Pahi 63, "Quetzalcoatl".

pahi63gaia_0.jpg


Just dreaming, as usual...I'm interested to learn anything about these alternativist designs. Are they of limited use outside tropical zones? Have any examples made more than token use of the large bridgedeck area? Are they very payload-sensitive?

Is that modest half-formed gaff rig really as good (and as big) as the design could carry? And, is there any reason why the Pahi 63' couldn't have its plans upsized by a third, to build a three-masted Pahi 84'?

I like the fact that these big cats are only roped-together. Very clever, being so simple. But are they mainly for the wide Pacific?
 
dancrane said:
I first encountered James Wharram's designs in the August 1986 Yachting World article about the Pahi 63, "Quetzalcoatl".

pahi63gaia_0.jpg


Just dreaming, as usual...I'm interested to learn anything about these alternativist designs. Are they of limited use outside tropical zones? Have any examples made more than token use of the large bridgedeck area? Are they very payload-sensitive?

Is that modest half-formed gaff rig really as good (and as big) as the design could carry? And, is there any reason why the Pahi 63' couldn't have its plans upsized by a third, to build a three-masted Pahi 84'?

I like the fact that these big cats are only roped-together. Very clever, being so simple. But are they mainly for the wide Pacific?
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I sailed on the prototype's first offshore trip, between Falmouth and Camaret, and kept a log of inter alia course made good, wind strength and direction, course steered, speed, etc. which JW Designs insisted I kept to myself.

One of the great benefits of large Wharram cats is that they come equipped not with Lewmar or Harken 2-speed winches, but a range of large and small wenches, to do the sail handling, trimming and deckwork. These uniquely-economic and renewable resources make for very pleasant sailing, clad as they usually are in simple blue lavalava/pareos and some flowers. :)

The boat needed no heating as such, for each of the four accommodation pods could shelter 4 or more of the 'wenches' that seemed to occupy just about every nook and cranny of the JWA empire at Devoran. Said 'wenches' kept the pods warm and cosy, especially after a 3-hour cold and damp night watch..... ;)

The central bridgedeck is a communal space, and the first '63 had a 'firepit' set in the middle. This is/was a great asset when lying to anchor in a quiet bay. When the seas got up a bit, the whole kit 'n caboodle disappeared swiftly into the ocean. :eek:

As I recall, she wasn't particularly swift, and a bit cumbersome when tacking or changing direction. That would not be an attractive attribute at or near 50°N 02°W, or anywhere else in the firing line of a nearby busy TSS. There are those who hold that the 'Tiki' range are significantly more satisfying as sailing boats than the 'Pahis', and disputes such as this keep Wharram acolytes arguing year on year.

Certainly, they're more suited to the sub-tropics than Svalbard - but isn't everything?
 
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dancrane said:
Are they of limited use outside tropical zones?
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Very limited in my opinion, but plenty do sail in N. Europe with hardier souls onboard.

dancrane said:
Have any examples made more than token use of the large bridgedeck area? Are they very payload-sensitive?
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Yes and yes. Very overloaded they tear themselves to piece in rough conditions. Don't ask me how I know that.

dancrane said:
Is that modest half-formed gaff rig really as good (and as big) as the design could carry?
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It is a super conservative rig and it goes to windward like a brick. Off the wind it is reasonably efficient. We are seriously considering a radical upgrade to a bigger more modern rig. We might regret it, but it could be fun.


dancrane said:
I like the fact that these big cats are only roped-together. Very clever, being so simple. But are they mainly for the wide Pacific?
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Not sure what you mean. They are very tough, they will take pretty much any conditions, but the crew won't.


 
Wharram explains his design philosophy on his web site very well. http://wharram.com/site/ The lashings are strong but the resilience is not in the strength of the lashings but in the fact that the hulls will move on the lashings. Other designs have slight camber on the hull where the beam touches it to facilitate this, while some designs have pivots through the hull which the beam is connected too.

There quite a few Wharrams sailing about in Northern latitudes. My old Tangarroa ended up in Denmark and being sailed around those waters. A friend has a Captain Cook on the West Coast of Scotland and I am aware of two more on the Firth of Clyde. There are many stories of Wharrams surviving tropical storms and managing inclement weather very well. I sailed a Phai in about a Force 7 beating up wind off the West Coast of Jura. It slammed occasionally and while we could achieve 45 degrees, I felt that freeing off about 5 degrees was far more comfortable and faster.

They can be insulate very easily and be fitted with stoves. I would propose the concept that Wharram use is very suited to Northern Latitudes. The many compartments allows for easy living, with out different activities clashing with one another. For example a wet room can be established and sleeping areas kept very separate and dry.

Wharram's boat design philosophy very much dove tails with sailing as a leisure activity to be enjoyed. I have never met the man but oldbilbos comments remind me of a friend who visited his premises to view a boat. He reported back that at lunch time they all took their clothes off and sat around in the sun eating lunch! A remarkable man and remarkable boat designs.
 
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Old Bilbo, that is a very good bit of writing.

Wot, after all, is the point in sailing to deserted tropical islands and being unable to park right on the beach, bbq fish for the vegetarian lassies and sleep al fresco on a trampoline net, eh?

Great concept, perhaps with a limited ( left field) kind of resale value down the line, but many people have enjoyed epic voyages at a far younger age than would be possible by buying conventionally and expensively.imo.
 
Together with 5 other people we built an 'ORO' (46') in the late 60's, soon after he had returned from his initial transatlantic voyage and when he had set up house in Deganwy. One of our group had met James some time earlier so we all went down for a chat and came away fully fired up with the ORO plans and a RTW trip in mind. Yes, we did meet some of the 'wenches'! We built the boat and launched on the Orwell near Ipswich. Unfortunately we did take some of James's ideas too literally - we didn't have an engine so soon found all the Orwell mudbanks. Winches would also have been a good idea as well as a few home comforts, particularly for our Northern Hemispere. Our's was a spritsail rig which was OK but I probably wouldn't choose again.
The group broke up a few months after launching so we never did any decent trips - the best one was a trip down the Stour with the potential new owner when we overtook all boats in sight, including some much larger ones. That trip sold the boat and the last we heard was that it was in Whitby but what happened after that I've no idea.
Would I buy another one - probably not but it was a good experience at the time and if we had started our RTW trip we would probably all been drowned!
One of the group a few years ago did have a Wharram built in Thailand which was a nice boat but that had to be sold in the end and unfortunately he died soon after.
 
We first saw Spirit of Gaia the 63 foot Wharram at Funchal in Madeira in 1994 when we were starting our adventure. Needless to say he wasn't anchored where everybody else was.

We then met up with them in 1998 at Safaga, Egypt as we made our way home up the Red sea. They anchored close by - they were uninhibited to say the least :rolleyes:.

Hannake came on board our boat for a while - we had our 2 children on board and my wife and her chatted about schooling. Seemed a pleasant lady to me.

I recall, but my memory may me tricking me, that they took quite a robust course up the Red Sea, preferring to sail when many of the rest of us were hiding from the headwinds.

Remarkable man & 'family'.
 
We had a Pahi 31 with the short gaff wingsail rig for seven years when the kids were younger. The rig worked very well and I did not consider it to be under canvassed at all as it would slip along in a zephyr of breeze very nicely. I continued to sail her through several winters as well, I must have been a bit more hardy (fool) back then though. For a Catamaran she handled quite well and as is my want I regularly sailed off and back onto my mooring, we even slipped out from a Moulin Blanc marina inside berth under sail once.
When it came to selling her she sold very quickly for the price asked and we were quite sad to see her go. I last saw her languishing neglected on a mooring in puerto de naos Lanzarote.

Would I want to own another? If the circumstances were right I would probably.

Sailingtopickupmooring.jpg


Dignitysailing.jpg
 
oldbilbo said:
One of the great benefits of large Wharram cats is that they come equipped not with Lewmar or Harken 2-speed winches, but a range of large and small wenches, to do the sail handling, trimming and deckwork. These uniquely-economic and renewable resources make for very pleasant sailing, clad as they usually are in simple blue lavalava/pareos and some flowers. :)?
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It was my understanding that they wore considerably less than that. Mind you I went to see them in Milford in the 70s. It was far too cold for any of that. I was tempted to build a Tahini 50 but ended up with a Kelsall design that was a great deal more practical and a lot faster.
 
Friend of friend day chartered one (35ft?) out of the Turcs and Cacos (sp) Built it in Canada, sailed it down and had a good business. Decided (with local money) to build a bigger one to carry more PX. Well known multi designer was engaged and a 65ft design was
produced. (google Rustic Schooner) At this stage I was asked if it could be be built in Portugal at a reasonable cost, I looked around at several multi builds and worked out some figures. Finaly it was built in Florida. Sadly, for Bill, the F of F, the money didn't stretch far enough and it is now in a big charter fleet. It was very like a big Warram, similar rig to the 'short gaff'.

Little story told by a sailing friend: Manager of a big paint co. something like national paints but with wider scope. Visiting his local S.W rep. to see how it was on the ground. Rep says we are visiting a designer of catamarans to talk about antifoul.
Knock on door, answered by wench in sarong. 'Please take your shoes off, it is our custom.' While waiting for the great man, they notice a wench at the drawing board. Clad only in nickers. Manager not too comfortable. After the man arrived and they started on the subject of antifoul, he said they needed to talk to the marine biologist. She turned up, wearing nothing at all. At this point the manager lost it.
Probably just a story...
DW

Spirit of Gaia was parked in Ferraguda for a while, aquaintance steeled himself and called. Warram was very welcoming and gave him a copy of 'Two Boats, Two Women'.

I admire him for filling in gap in the market/lifestyle. But I am not sure I would want one,.
 
I first encountered some James Wharram designs in the mid 70's - I vividly remember one about 45' (perhaps an Oro?) called "If Dogs Run Free" arriving here from across the Atlantic.
And James' personal boat then, the 51' Tehini also visited here about then, and I remember asking if I could have a look around on board (but I dont remember a crew of scantily clad wenches though.....).

And I had a pal here with a sprit-sail ketch rigged Tangaroa called 'Taaroa' - both the main and mizzen were sprit-sails, like a Thames barge, and they could be brailed up immediately - very easy to handle.

And I know some Bajan folk here who were living in Vancouver in the 70's, decided to sail home, so bought Wharram plans, and built a Narai in their back yard, and then sailed her home westabouts, with three little children, all of whom were ace sailors. .

I think that Richard Woods (www.sailingcatamarans.com) worked for Wharram for a bit after he left college in Southampton - you can see some Wharram influence in the older Woods cats (eg re open bridge decks, and vee shaped hulls), but Richard's cats were all generally significantly faster (and dare I say it much more attractive).
 
Bajansailor said:
I think that Richard Woods (www.sailingcatamarans.com) worked for Wharram for a bit after he left college in Southampton - you can see some Wharram influence in the older Woods cats (eg re open bridge decks, and vee shaped hulls), but Richard's cats were all generally significantly faster (and dare I say it much more attractive).
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Due to meet Richard Woods this week. He's coming to give a talk at our sailing club. I'll be interested to hear what he has to say on design.
 
Tiki 36

Our tiki 36 is a good fit for us, a family of three. The permanent mooring at the right price is obviously a key requirement, not sure you'd want to pay by the square metre in a Marina. Having a cat and the confidence to dry out keeps you closer to inland services and out of marinas. We were lucky to pick up a well built and looked after model. Life is too short to build one. For the money, a deck pod and now with a permanent sun canopy there is plenty of space and stability, the winches are smaller than on my previous gk29.
 
Nice to see there are a few people like me who have a romantic attachement to Wharram cats.
When I first wanted a real boat in the late 60s I bought the plans for Tane-a 28 footer as I recall-as I could just about afford to build it one hull at a time but reached 17 and a car took its place.
I still have the plans and sometimes think maybe-the last time was after seeing several around about Paihia in the Bay of Islands NZ and thought I could really have fun with one in the Hokianga Harbour and out into the Tasman Sea with its shallow draft and beaching ability counteracting the shallow harbour bars of the NZ west coast.
What I need now is a Kiwi telling me I must be mad!
 
Back in 73, I shunted my car and was a few weeks short of the new one being delivered. My insurance guy had mentioned a Citroen 2CV for sale. Turned out to be a musician from Germany living on a farm and building a Wharram. I bought the car (£10) and then spent a couple of hours helping him with the plans. Not the easiest for a first timer (being polite here) He had built one hull, so was well on the way. But.... no sailing experience, and planned a RTW trip. No idea how it turned out, but doubt the RTW.
The car did though. Spent another £6 on an exhaust and MOT. Rebushed the carb to get it running, used it till the new car was delivered, then sold it to a student for £50. 1959 425cc model.
DW
 
I happen to know that there's 3/4 of a Wharram 'Tiki 31' going, not very far from Exeter....

That's ONE hull, crossbeams, decking, spars, rudders. It needs a good home.... and another hull.

No, it's not mine. If anyone is fairly seriously interested, let me know and I'll put in touch. After that, it's down to you 'n he. ;)

tiki_31.jpg
 
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