Narai MKIV (Modified) Instead of a Tiki

[Budget Boater]

Please excuse my poor sketching skills.

I have opted for a Narai MKIV (modified) for several reasons, the most significant of which is the expected hours to complete, in part due to the modifications I expect to utilize. Another big reason is my family size. I need a large four cabin layout with a master and a full size head area. Though the TIKI 38 nearly offered all of this, it is not adequate. As we near the completion of the Tiki 38 "Dog", I can surmise that the "aft cabins" are simply too small for my purposes.

The Tiki 46 is more boat than I want to build. And having now built a Tiki 30 and 38, as well as completely rebuilt a Tangaroa, The Classic Design Narai MKIV is, in my opinion, the better choice for us, especially with the modifications we intend to make, while using epoxy glue.

We will be widening the beam overall to 23.5' by using Tiki style I-Beams of our own design. The beam troughs will be eliminated altogether and the beams will sit on the flat deck in chocks and lashed to the hulls Tiki style.

In order to partition the boat to our satisfaction, we will be closing off the central part of both hulls similar to the Tiki 38. This will create two significant cabins for and aft, each with 6'2" standing headroom with the added coach roofs between the beams. The central area of one hull will be a full sized galley with refrigerator and freezer (sitting room will be eliminated since I never used it on any of the boats I cruised on, preferring to eat outside under canopy.) The central area of the other hull will contain the queen sized master berth with cabinets. There will be a door in the aft bulkhead of this cabin that will allow for an en-suite head, which can also be accessed from the deck.

Because of the raised deck, we will be able to easily accommodate a spacious centrally located sunken steering cockpit and seating area of approximately 100 sq feet. Fore and aft of this area will be full slatted decks all the way to the bows and sterns (I had a similar configuration on my Tangaroa, and fell in love with it.) We may incorporate a simple drop-down boarding ladder, but we will port the dingy over the side as I have always done.

The simple and inexpensive Crab Claw ketch rig will complete the basic boat and will be simple to install, rig, and maintain, with no winches, and no heavy strains on the rigging.

At this point, the layout is pretty much set in stone, as the keels have been cut, and one is already assembled, and the 24 foot long beams have been built. The beginning of this build will be slow,  and projects will only be completed in our rare spare time.

I just hope this will be the last boat I build!

[salti]

Cheers mate.

[Penn D]

Hey BB. I like your layout!! Whats your plans for chart room?

[Budget Boater]

People still use those?

I have had five cruising boats in 27 years and never had, nor used a chart table. Twelve other boats that were cruised or delivered and some had chart tables, none of which were used except to pile crap onto.

Penn D said:

Hey BB. I like your layout!! Whats your plans for chart room?

[Penn D]

What do you use for nav?

[Budget Boater]

I was trained by the US Navy as a Navigator, so I use small scale paper charts when out of sight of land, and visual navigation in conjunction with cruising guides when in sight of land. Electronic navigation is also readily available in the cockpit.

Plotting my DR or GPS position on the chart takes less than a minute, so any flat surface works: i.e. galley table, cockpit table, cockpit seat, bunk with a book under the chart, etc. I have always found a chart table/nav room to be a considerable waste of valuable space, especially considering 99% of all important navigation is done from deck by sight while in the presence of a land mass.

Penn D said:

What do you use for nav?

[Jeremy Walker]

next step would be to revert  to or adopt traditional Oceanic navigation where all info is kept in your head.

no instruments or electronics needed either.

Hokulea and crew managed their circumnavigation this way recently.

[Budget Boater]

I had no navigation equipment, charts, or compass on my first cruise to the Bahamas on the Tangaroa. It was all in my head, and I made note of wave action, birds, and water color changes to help guide me. I also had no electricity or running water. Of course, that was all in my youth.

Now I am old and I like cold drinks, a flushing toilet, and lights to read by.

Jeremy Walker said:

next step would be to revert  to or adopt traditional Oceanic navigation where all info is kept in your head.

no instruments or electronics needed either.

Hokulea and crew managed their circumnavigation this way recently.

[Penn D]

Simple and in nature... Nice ☺

[Penn D]

Do you consider the Tehini to large for yourself and family?

[Budget Boater]

Too big? No.

Just to expensive for us to afford, not to mention the extra time required to build. I am very tired of building. I just want to get back on the water. By the time I expect to finish my Narai, I will have consumed 25% of my current life building boats.

Penn D said:

Do you consider the Tehini to large for yourself and family?

[Penn D]

I have dreamed of a Tehini for years now.. I look forward to your YouTube of the building process... Hopefully late next year i am ready to start building myself!! Cheers!!!