Sunday 9 June 2013

Planets Align

Planning the ideal yacht has been a pleasant diversion for years, but with no real definitive conclusion.  Many different opinions have been given by friends, family, designers and builders groups.  As I get nearer to the time I can start spending more time in the Philippines though, gradually the momentum for planning a yacht there instead of the UK gathered.  Ideally a self-build to fulfil a long held ambition.

There is a group of owner/builders in the Philippines      http://www.pinoyboats.org
They explained how difficult it is to source high tech boat building materials and equipment.  Even if available to import, high import duties are applied.  In view of the limited marina facilities, uncharted reefs, typhoons and the advantages associated with being able to beach, their recommendation was for a catamaran.   I have a good friend in the UK (Henry) who came up with a short-list which included the Wharrams.  I had looked before at Wharrams, but been unsure if I would be happy with something not full to the gunwale with the latest in high tech materials and equipment.  Could I also forgo speed when racing and accept less is more...  I followed numerous boat building logs, but was most inspired by Neil Hawkesford and his Gleda project Tiki 38  http://thegledaproject.com 

Suddenly, a Tiki made a lot of sense.  Back to roots sailing, ideal for the beach location in the Philippines, made from materials that should be readily available.   Personal aspirations for how I saw myself sailing in the future seemed to match the philosophy of James Wharram and many of his owner builders.

OK, so a Tiki it was, but what size?

In an ideal world, the 46 seemed perfect.  Speed, space and real ocean ability.  But if I can only build part-time for the next few years, how long would it take?  Could I launch/recover such a large catamaran from a beach to dodge typhoons and for upkeep?  Having seen the Gleda project and many other Tiki 38 builds/photos, this seemed to be a good compromise.  But I was still unsure if it would be big enough to serve future needs, yet would still take some time to build.

Then out of the blue, an ebay search brought up
Maybe it would be best to build this first, see how easy it was to source materials, judge the practicality of ownership from our beach lot.  The time/risk in the build would be manageable and I would know from this whether the Tiki 38 or 46 would be best for a second build later on....

I bid, and I won!  Too many co-incidences to ignore.  All the planets lined up, decision made!

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