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Kayak Catamaran?
Discussion in ' Wooden Boat Building and Restoration ' started by lvabd , Dec 6, 2022 .
lvabd Junior Member
Does anyone know what this is or if there are plans for it? It looks like someone just strapped two kayaks together. I don't have a shop right now and want something minimalist, for coastal cruising and camping. This looks like it might fit my requirements, without being overly complex. This came from a 2014 post, on this site; but, the ebay link is dead. Can I just show the picture to a boat-builder and have him reproduce it?
Milehog Clever Quip
Welcome to the forum! It's an attractive craft but I am skeptical of its utility. I'm gonna be a little salty here but understand, I've been in your shoes, not knowing anything about sail boats and being attracted to a bad design. How is it propelled when not sailing? Will it go to weather? Is it even capable of a broad reach? How do you board and exit on anything but a shallow beach? That bridge will slap and sneeze on anything but flat water. The motion, I suspect, will be abrupt and sluggish. The canvas, as it is, will be useful only for camping, otherwise present too much windage and destroy visibility. Suggest you find something proven like a production beach cat rather than try to revive something defective that didn't reproduce.
You nailed it sir! It's a bad design; but, I do want the camping bit. I really am looking for a sail powered wall-tent. Of course, that would be the Kon Tiki, which couldn't make Galeon speed. I'm thinking this beast can be redeemed, by lowering the shelter under sail. With it up, I think Thor Heyerdahl will embarass me at the regatta. Also, there's no used boat market where I live. A beach cat won't help with camping and will set me back five large. I'm lookin' to go five small. In this image, there are all the bits I need, just perhaps, they shouldn't all be active at the same time. It's more icon than boat, I suppose; but, maybe not that far off. It's gonna take some re-arranging, I think and maybe ad some zippers and snaps on the canvas, to allow parallel parking. Thanks for the enthusiastic welcome!
DCockey Senior Member
The boat in the photo appears to be "skin on frame" construction, probably designed to be taken apart for transport. lvabd said: ↑ Can I just show the picture to a boat-builder and have him reproduce it? Click to expand...
That is a lot. Do you have any recommendations or compromises I can consider, to keep the price down?
Ivabd, you still haven't answered my questions. Humor me. Let's expand on DC's post. Pay 10k for materials, 6k for labor and end up with an unsail-able/unsale-able/unseaworthy POS. Yours is not an unusual position. You don't know what you don't know while we can plainly see that which you can't. You can buy a good beach cat and have it transported for much less than having that POS built. Ask yourself why there is only one, likely extinct, version of that craft. If it was a good idea, you'd see more. The world is always looking for a better mousetrap and you have not found one. Think of yourself as a dehydrated horse. We have led you to water, the rest is up to you.
I was posting while you were. I'd search for nearby sailing clubs, scour the web and, if you have a thick hide, go to sailing anarchy which is everything from vulgar and hateful to a great source of ideas. A good used cat from a popular design or one-design fleet, will have the best sale and resale value. P.S. Thanks for asking before jumping in after that Darwin Special.
gonzo Senior Member
People use beach cats, like Hobies for camping. A regular tent set on the trampoline is all you need.
Skyak Senior Member
lvabd said: ↑ Does anyone know what this is or if there are plans for it? It looks like someone just strapped two kayaks together. I don't have a shop right now and want something minimalist, for coastal cruising and camping. This looks like it might fit my requirements, without being overly complex. This came from a 2014 post, on this site; but, the ebay link is dead. Can I just show the picture to a boat-builder and have him reproduce it? Click to expand...
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Robert Biegler Senior Member
lvabd said: ↑ Does anyone know what this is or if there are plans for it? It looks like someone just strapped two kayaks together. Click to expand...
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In the mid 50's, based on his research into ancient Polynesian boat design, James Wharram built the first off-shore Catamaran in Britain and sailed it out into the Atlantic. While the world's yachting community still did not accept such a design as a worthy sea-going vessel, James was landing his 23'6" 'Double Canoe' called TANGAROA in Trinidad in the West Indies.
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People Of The Sea - German Translation
We are pleased to announce that James Wharram's autobiography 'People of the Sea' has been translated to German and is now available to order. People of the Sea is the life story of iconic catamaran designer James Wharram, from a Wartime childhood in Manchester, to mountaineer, to pioneer catamaran sailor in the 1950s, to designer of modern Polynesian catamarans. It is not just a book about his designs and sailing, but covers many aspects of his philosophy and ideas, on politics, lifestyle, psychology, experimental marine archaeology, boat construction and his relationship with the ocean and its 'people of the sea'- the Polynesians.
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Pacific Islander History Month
This month of May in America is 'Pacific Islander History Month' and we at James Wharram Designs would like to join in and celebrate alongside them! As you may know, double canoes/catamarans are of ancient Polynesian origin. The modern day catamaran is a direct descendent of these original ocean-going vessels.
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James Wharram's Last Ride
On 23 July, a motley fleet of self-built catamarans gathered off Cornwall to give James and Ruth Wharram their final escort. It was a fitting farewell to a legend. The ashes of James and Ruth Wharram were consigned to the sea to be carried by the ebb current out to the open ocean.
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Hanneke's Atlantic Adventures (Part 3)
My new home for the next two weeks was Ontong Java. She had crossed the Atlantic a week after us and was moored off the beach in Port Louis, on the North West coast of Grand Terre.
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People Of The Sea - Compact Edition
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