Interesting Pahi 35

[Dean Wilkerson]

Here is a Pahi 35 listed for sale in Aruba that is quite interesting.   it has a bridge deck cabin that seems to be integrated into the hulls.  It is completely lacking the visible beams projecting.  What confuses me is the listed beam of only 15'.... it should be around 18' I think.   Built in 1978 according to the add, it's a nice looking boat for $18K.  Anybody know anything about it?   Here's the URL:  Pahi 35 Aruba

                                                      DW

[Andrés]

I think it is the original Pahi 35 that was built in foam/sandwich, it is mentioned in the Wharram Design Book.

It is the precursor of the P31 and P42. The firsts Pahis where narrower (the beam of the P31 was almost the same length as the Tiki 26, and now it has 16'3") . The bridge deck cabin was added by an owner later.

[Dean Wilkerson]

While it definitely looks like the Pahi... with it's strangely shaped bows, it lacks the high beam location and lashings which are visible on the normal Pahi models.  It looks like it has rigid beams, and that would tend to be confirmed by the full width bridge deck cabin integrated into the hulls, which would not be possible on a flexible boat.  Perhaps it uses the other Wharram flex beam connection, but then one would think that the cabin would need to have a connection to the hulls that allowed for flexing, which if that is the case, is not obvious here........... Or did the owner make things rigid??  

     In any case, a very interesting variant........... as the 35 is not a normal Pahi length, I suspect you are right about which boat it actually is............ I don't have the book.   I have very mixed feelings about foam sandwich construction dated 1978.  That was before real marine construction foams existed....nor have those marine marine construction foams had a particularly good record...............  I'd be very shy about a sandwich boat from that era. 

Note that looking at the photos in the add, the bridge deck cabin has a bed sideways in it,   Looking at the mattress and the mast location, etc, I would estimate the actual full cabin width including the part that overlaps the hull cabins to be about 12', which makes the full beam of 16' believable, but looking at the exterior it simply does not look that narrow, except for one photo where it shows the bows, front beam, and self furling jib.  Perhaps the reason it doesn't look narrow is the low cabin.... I'd estimate headroom at about 5'.

                                                                           DW

[Dominic Tarr]

According to the design book, the prototype pahi was 23 foot, built in 72, then later they built a 35 foot one in glass over foam, with 5 side windows like this one. in 1978. I noticed on the photo that the name is Areoi. That's the name of the Pahi 31 design (but after the classics everyone refers to them by the design generation + length) The book also says it was entered in the Round Brittan race.

I did some detective work, Areoi, a 35 foot catamaran was is listed as an entrant on the 1978 race!

No pahi plans were sold until after the race, so there really couldn't be another pahi built in 1978. Also, no plans sold for 35 footer, but I guess someone could just stretch a 31. The deckhouse was certainly not in the original but that could have been added later.

So this has got to be the original... and looks like it hasn't sold...

[Dominic Tarr]

I also notice there is a box on top of the cabins to give an area of full head room. personally, I think it's ugly.

I prefer the spartan open deck original wharram vibe.

[Dean Wilkerson]

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder.     Functionality for voyaging is not insignificant.   Not all Wharrams sail exclusively in tropical waters, and there are many situations even in the tropics where being able to take shelter and still have good all around view, and not have to climb up from deep inside the hull through a hatch that is letting rain and/or spray inside would make the boat look "beautiful".   Considering the apparent home waters (UK), being exposed all the time could be miserable unless you confined your sailing to clement weather.  I don't see any reason why sailing needs to entail excessive suffering from cold and wet.    Who described sailing as standing in front of a firehose spraying salt water while tearing up wads of hundred dollar bills.... or something to that effect.    Guess I've gone soft in my old age... well, not really, I'm tougher than many people half my age, but I don't seek out discomfort and misery.   Sitting inside a pod, warm and dry watching as the storm rages outside and only stepping out into the tempest when absolutely necessary appeals to me  ;-).   Cats appeal to me for the same reason... why live on your ear if you don't have to?   The junk rig also appeals to me for similar reasons.   Easy to handle and reef, simple tacking..just put the helm over and adjust the sheets as needed, no winches, travelers, vangs, preventers, barber haulers, no sail tracks and cars to jam and have to fight down, or jibs with furling gear to go haywire at the worst moment, no running backstays, or forestays to work a jib around in a tack.  No stays and shrouds, spreaders, diamond stays, chain plates with countless connections to fail unexpectedly, or wear on sails, or leak, or be replaced at huge cost every 10 years or so.   I see no reason to make sailing more difficult or expensive than necessary.

                                                  DW