Wharram Builders and Friends

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I arrived at the beginning of March 2001 in the West Indies to work at the Martinique airport in the air traffic control.
At first I bought an old mono-hull Etap28 to enjoy sailing. After a few cruises with our 3 teenagers, the life on board is appeared to be very difficult on a such little boat. So I thought why not to build quickly in one year a Tiki 30 in order to test the advanced junk rig (Swing wing rig) I planed to put on each hull of my Tiki 46 under building in France.

In December I ordered the Tiki 30 plans and the wood. Here is a boat-builder Multicap Caraibe who produces plywood catamarans and offers first class marine plywood (all plies are in sapele) and Sicomin epoxy designed for tropical climate.
Quickly I built a shelter along our house which is situated near the airport. The shelter was just enough large to build only one hull.
In fact the building needed more time than expected : the port hull has been built in 2002, the starboard hull in 2003 and the beams + cabin pod + masts in 2004 for a launch in mid December 2004.

Here is general view of the airport. We were living on the right of the airport and you can see a little marina in the mangrove on the left at the opposite way.


I'm surprised to discover on the Google picture we can find out the shape of PHA in the garden of our house situated almost in the housing estate center.


December 2002 the first hull was built and with the help of children and friends we put it in the garden :


As all the parts have been cut in double when building the first hull, we could begin quickly the second hull.

December 2002 assembling the hull sides :


December 2002 making the keel :


December 2002 Positioning the bulkheads on the keel :


December 2002 preparing the hull sides :


December 2002 preparing together the hull sides + keel with bow and stern parts with the stitch method :


December 2002 positioning vertically the folded hull :


December 2002 the hull is formed in stitching a bulkhead with copper wire :


December 2002 view from the stern before stitching the bulkhead :


December 2002 checking the bulkhead position :


December 2002 the hull sides are not stitch with the keel, but screwed slightly with large washers. The screws have to be removed before the epoxy glue become too hard :


January 2003 with 2 bulkheads and the bow fixed we began to appreciate the hull shape :


January 2003 we were very happy to welcome our friends Anne and Nev who landed in Martinique from Canaries to visit us :


January 2003 Ann and Nev looking at the starboard hull in the garden :


February 2003 we were very pleased to have 2 weekends of holidays on board Peace4 :


March 2003 the bow buoyancy compartment is well finished before to fill it with foam parts :


March 2003 the foam is moulded in plastic bags into the bow and after is re-cut to be able to put off them if necessary frm the hole in the front bulkhead :


March 2003 it's the same for the buoyancy volume under the back locker behind the cabin :


March 2003 glueing the stern deck :


April 2003 the kitchen is done :


April 2003 one another view of the kitchen with the sink :


April 2003 the holes for the windows are prepared before to glue the cabin side to the hull :


April 2003 the other cabin side without windows is glued on the hull :


April 2003 making the cabin roof with a sandwich of plywood + honey core or wood reinforcement + plywood :


April 2003 glueing the cabin roof on the cabin sides :


April 2003 turning the hull to glass it :


May 2203 the hull is glassed :


May 2003 one another view of the returned hull :


May 2003 how is glued a reinforced strip wood over the keel without screw. After to add a glass layer around this piece, a stainless strip will be screw for final protection :


June 2003 adding a lashing rail on the hull sides to get a stronger fixation as on the Tiki38 and Tik46 :


June 2003 final sanding before to paint the hull and to put it in the garden :


September 2003 after to have a few weeks of work on our Tiki46 in France we make the beams :


September 2003 epoxying the inside of the beams before to close them :


December 2003 integrated a foot on the beams to hold the tubes supporting the life lines along the deck sides :


December 2003 glueing 6mm rubber pads under the beams where the beams are in contact with the deck reinforcements :


November 2003 starting to assemble the pod :


November 2003 glueing the first bottom plywood layer :


November 2003 the left locker has no bottom to receive the engine seat :


November 2003 reinforcements on the bottom pod :


November 2003 preparing the honey core layer :


November 2003 glueing the honey core on the front bottom pod :


November 2003 inside the cabin with the emergency hole :


December 2003 the engine locker :


December 2003 the locker for emergency gears : life jackets, life-raft, ropes, oilskins etc. it's possible to have access to this locker from the bottom if necessary :


December 2003 making the cabin pod sides :


December 2003 glueing the top layer of the pod roof :


December 2003 sanding, sanding, sanding.......


January 2004 the pod is ready to be painted :


January 2004 adjusting the level between the 2 hulls to receive the pod :


January 2004 Painting the inside of the pod ;


January 2004 putting wheels under the pod :


January 2004 the pod is ready to be climbed on the beams :


January 2004 the pod is OK on the beams :


March 2004 modified lashing system :


April 2004 supports on the pod and hulls to handle the walking way :


April 2004 View to the cockpit :


April 2004 inside the cabin pod :


April 2004 in the garden :


April 2004 the anchor box :


April 2004 the engine seat :


May 2004 all these round wood pieces with 12 faces will generate the mast shape :


May 2004 all the round pieces are aligned :


May 2004 glueing the first stringer;


May 2004 the half is glued :


May 2004 filling the V void between the stringer with epoxy:


May 2004 one another view :


May 2004 the half mast is turned to glue the other stringers :


May 2004 a plastic tube is inserted in the middle to pass the electric wires :


May 2004 the mast is completely glued :


June 2004 the masts are well rounded :


June 2004 the bottom hull has been painted with copper coat;


June 2004 a last picture before to fly to France to work on our Tiki46 :


September 2004 the bottom of the masts is reinforced with carbon cloth :


September 2004 the hull is reinforced to receive the mast foot :


September 2004 this piece will be glued on the keel to receive the mast foot :


September 2004 one another view of the foot piece :


September 2004 this piece has been molded on the deck to follow exactly its curve and will be glued to the mast :


September 2004 now it is bolted on the deck :


September 2004 in order to be glued to the mast :


September 2004 now a little fillet is made before to make a large fillet + glass epoxy :


October 2004 the mast have been to be finalized before to be painted :


October 2004 Eyes are glued at the top to fix the blocks :


October 2004 painting the masts :


October 2004 making the wishbones :


November 2004 a wishbone with its swing batten :


November 2004 making the curved tillers :


November 2004 PHA wishes to sail on the trees :


November 2004 general front view :


November 2004 front view :


November 2004 view on the mast foot :


November 2004 front view :


November 2004 back view :


November 2004 toilettes :


November 2004 toilettes :


December 2004 first try to sail up in the garden :


How is fitted the engine :


December 2004 going to the marina near the end of the runway :


December 2004 preparing the launch :


December 2004 launching :


December 2004 launching :


December 2004 launching :


December 2004 putting the masts :


December 2004 putting the masts :


December 2004 our first sail test after to have rigged the sail, the captain seems satisfied, the boat tack easily :


December 2004 it's time to come back in the harbour :


December 2004 it's time to have a little break :


December 2004 no, I have not finished the tender...


Now it's time to enjoy the sailing......

Views: 9188

Comment by Boris Potschka on December 15, 2009 at 2:50pm
Absolutly great!
Comment by Joshua del Mar on February 22, 2010 at 4:36pm
thank you for such a comprehensive photo journal! great job on the build!
Comment by paul anderson on November 10, 2010 at 3:07pm
what an inspiration you are.
Comment by Brett Damarell on July 11, 2012 at 3:47am

WOW!!!!

Comment by andreas vasilakis on November 29, 2012 at 4:07pm

Many thanks for the good  story! Very nice mast idea!

Comment by Bernard Leclercq on July 30, 2013 at 5:32pm

Thank you thank you thank ! Merci beaucoup

you are an inspiration

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