Launching a tiki 26 tips needed

[paul anderson]

G,day folks

With the near completion of my boat and a slight improvement in the cash flow situation my mind turns to launching the cat.

I have looked at a lot of pics on the interwebs and noticed that some builders have assembled the boat while it is in the water. I think Boatsmith has done this?

My proposed launch site is not a very level piece of ground so assembling the boat in the water would make sense.

How would you do it, or if you have done it, what advice do you have?

Any tips on what makes for any easier launch would be welcome.

cheers paul.

[Darren Soper]

The photos look like Cornwall, also bloody cold. Paul in Queensland should be more comfortable even in winter

[boatsmith]

the process, particularly the first  time, is WAY much easier on the beach or pavement. I have never assembled beams to hulls and installed all else whilst in the water. It is exponentially harder. If you must do so you will need temporary sticks for beams. I would advise considering a different site. If that is not an option it will be much easier to assemble the boat either unlevel or on blonks to bring it to level, The boat will move quite easily on rollers such as fence posts or 6" pvc tubes. jmo, David

[paul anderson]

Well you are the bloke who has launched a few of these boats, your opinion means a lot.

cheers paul.

[Arthur Little]

A friend and I dismantled and reassembled Jabberwock on the hard.  The hulls were on a set of trolley wheels and were not that difficult to move around and position.  I had thought it would be extremely difficult to align the hulls and beams in this manner, but it wasn't too bad in the end despite it being my first time.   A jiggle here and a jack there and we got it well set and firmly tied on.  I was working on a hard and  level serface though..

[Galway Bay]

 Paul - here is a run -through on the extra I would have to do to assemble ashore. You can judge yourself how much of this fits you or your boat.

First off I would need two cradles. With four wheelbarrow wheels on each the wheels alone would cost me E320. Then add ply resin etc. plus how long would it take to make them ?

 Once I arrived at the site I would need to offload onto the two cradles. I would have to order and pay for a mobile crane.  

Let me assume that the assembly goes much the same [ although it is by no means clear to me that it will be easier to move a boat about ashore than in the water ] the next problem I will face is fitting the cockpit. Sure two men can lift it - but only knee high and I will need to lift it up eight feet to get it over the beams. So I will have to keep the crane on site until this is done. With his meter running.

I can see the price of an EPIRB here. Or a set of standing rigging. Or lots of goodies that I need to take with me.

For me ,and again maybe it is just me, there is another issue. I want to be independent and do these jobs outside the whole marina/yachting scene. Where I sail I have no choice anyway but if you really intend to leave the beaten path you will have to be able to do jobs like this relying only on yourself and your ingenuity. The sooner you start the better.