Strip planked Classic?

[Penn D]

I am boatless at this point in time and even though I swore never to build again, the idea of a strip planked Tehini kind of turns me on ;-)

I know this guy has a plastic one but i like the "vibe" of timber and love the idea of strip plank. Maybe plastic decks? This guy has strip planked a tiki 38, but like the guy above seems to be missing in action :-P

I am no further along than dreaming at this stage and the beginning of the project is at least a couple of years away. I would be very happy to hear the experience of this forums perspective.

Cheers

[Galway Bay]

Why do it ?

You won't get a better shape, it will be slower and more expensive to build, but if you just love woodwork in general and strip planking in particular and you have the time and money then best of luck.

Far as I can see that T38 is an abandoned project.

[Penn D]

A couple of reasons, lighter and more internal volume. Not sure it would be that much longer in build time? I could well be wrong though. It will def come down to time and money at the end of the day ;-)

Seems a strange time to abandon such a project, he seemed only weeks away? Maybe he just got over the internet?

[Budget Boater]

The strip planked Tiki38 to which you are referring was improperly built and abandoned by the owner with a very substantial lawsuit that followed. To the best of my knowledge, the boat broke up in a small storm and was lost.

Beyond that, you have to do what turns you on. However, if you are that into strip planking, why build a Wharram that was not designed to be strip planked? Instead look for those catamaran designs that were designed to be strip planked, like a Chris White Atlantic series.

[Andrés]

The history of this boat is very sad. The owner was no happy with the builder final product and refuse to take the boat as it was. The builder take the boat to himself and all the money of the builder (U$ 70.000 if I remember  well). The owner lost everything. Then the builder sold the boat and it ended like this

[Budget Boater]

From my recollection, the builder had discounted, or dismissed, the inherent strength of plywood, and the structural parts of the boat (beam troughs, keels, mast cases, etc.) were not built to withstand the the stresses of the sea. I do remember seeing a photo of a beam trough locating pin hole that had ZERO wood of any kind in it - just foam and a thin layer of fiberglass.

Andrés said:

The history of this boat is very sad. The owner was no happy with the builder final product and refuse to take the boat as it was. The builder take the boat to himself and all the money of the builder (U$ 70.000 if I remember  well). The owner lost everything. Then the builder sold the boat and it ended like this

[Marty Peters]

Raoul Benetti built that 38 in pattaya and he was/is a well known crook and scam artist. His yard was raided by Thailand police and I believe that hi is still under arrest awaiting trial for fraud etc etc. he also built another 38 that had lots of issues and was taken by the owner and finished by a New Zealand yard after removing the substandard work. It turned out fantastic in the end. I think the name was natural high.
I don't see the point in strip planking unless you are developing nice curves. Seems a lot of work if not needed.

[Penn D]

Thank you for your replies. The 38 ended in a very sad state indeed. Not sure it was the strip planking, or more just poor workmanship from the beginning. I am definitely not sold on strip plank as a "has to be", just thinking of a way to rid the classic design of its bulky internal framing. Maybe plastic is the way to go ala boatsmith.

I'm prob way in front just purchasing a tiki46 when the time comes but do love the classic lines...

Cheers

[Galway Bay]

Penn - not sure I understand you fully. The framing in strip planked curved shapes can be reduced due to the shape not the construction ? A Wharram will still have no stiffening curves it will still need much the same frame ? It is still basically a flat panel boat ? Also a full or part b/head at every beam position ?

Wonderful method but better suited to a design with plenty of curvature ?

[Omar M. Rashash]

Strip planking will not be stronger than plywood, nor will it be faster to build or lighter. If you want to test this, puchase two silmilar sized kayak kits from Chesapeake Light Craft, one strip built, the other stitch and glue.  You'll understand by the time you get both boats done. DAMHIKT.

Cold-molding and strip planking are excellent techniques when the boat hull involves complex/compound curves. This is not an advantage when building a boat with a hull design that was intended for plywood construction.

I believe the Andy Smith Boatyard built three different Hitia 17s to explore the different methods of construction. IIRC, the plywood version ended up the lightest.

Omar

[Penn D]

Hi Galway Bay and Omar, thanks for you replies. I have only ever been inside one "classic", it was an Ariki,  and have never had a good look at any plans... from memory (it was quite a few years ago) The timber structure was quite bulky/heavy. It's not built out of stitch and glue as you know so I was thinking strip plank with a couple of layers of Dynel could overcome a lot of this "internal framing" and also make the overall boat lighter. Also without the more complicated process of building a mold for a plastic option? I am really just guessing here :-) I don't think you can stitch and glue a classic? I probably need to have a good look at some plans as I feel a little in the dark on all this.

The Hatia only has 4mm ply if i'm right? I think as you scale the boat size up you would have diff results?

This is my "Ann and Nev boat" I'm talking of here, I still got a few years to plan it and a few on top of that to build it.  ready once the kids have flown the coop. ;-)

Open to learn, Penn

[Budget Boater]

The Tiki designs do not have the internal framing bulkiness of the Classics, so I would recommend going in that direction if you are looking for a different visual aesthetic interior.

The 36' Tangaroa and the 40' Narai are both built with 9mm plywood as is the majority of the Tiki 38. So scaling up only makes a marginal difference. I think you would be hard pressed to get a lighter boat using strip plank over the ply/frame method.

I think that the visual internal framing of the classics takes most people off guard the first time they see it. We have grown accustomed to the plastic boats smooth interior looks, or the framing being covered by ceiling in the older wooden boats (which you could do to the interior of any Wharram if you were so inclined.) So I will leave you with the famous phrase from Chuck: "You can learn to live with anything," and in my own personal cases: "come to love it."

Penn D said:

Hi Galway Bay and Omar, thanks for you replies. I have only ever been inside one "classic", it was an Ariki,  and have never had a good look at any plans... from memory (it was quite a few years ago) The timber structure was quite bulky/heavy. It's not built out of stitch and glue as you know so I was thinking strip plank with a couple of layers of Dynel could overcome a lot of this "internal framing" and also make the overall boat lighter. Also without the more complicated process of building a mold for a plastic option? I am really just guessing here :-) I don't think you can stitch and glue a classic? I probably need to have a good look at some plans as I feel a little in the dark on all this.

The Hatia only has 4mm ply if i'm right? I think as you scale the boat size up you would have diff results?

This is my "Ann and Nev boat" I'm talking of here, I still got a few years to plan it and a few on top of that to build it.  ready once the kids have flown the coop. ;-)

Open to learn, Penn

[Armin Foell]

I cant' tel about any personal experience in building a hull with strip planking. But I remember a few years ago when Glenn Tiemann was building his Tama Moana he posted his succeedings in the wharram forum. It went very slowly although Glenn should be definitely considered as an experienced boat builder. I think, the stitch and glue method is way faster than the strip planking method and as said before very likely lighter.

Regards and always fair winds

Armin