THE WHARRAM DESIGN BOOK BUILD YOURSELF | A MODERN SEA-GOING } @ @ POLYNESIAN CATAMARANWe believe: “A Boat, like Weapons, Tools, Weaving and Pottery is one of man’s earliest artefacts. As with Weapons, Tools, Weaving and Pottery they can be strictly utilitarian or embody the highest sculptural, decorative aspects of man’s psyche. At its best a boat is the totality of environmental scupiture.” “In a world of shifting values, to build and sail one’s own boat, gives an inner certainty, | strength and apartness to live one’s own lifestyle.” manne - « Design is move than calculations and theory, itis a living g subject. I constantly tell the design students that gather round me each year: “All designed objects and hand con structed objects vill reveal the innec mind of the designer and constructor!" If you are « potential builder remember ad that!For several years we have been supplying to interested people a wall poster brochure on our designs; Tliked that brofhure, but... Increasingly over the last two years customers, friends, agents have asked me to enlarge it lo give more details; more on the history of our designs, on the different construction methods we have developed, on the design behind the different hoats, on the philosophy behind the designs. So much more that to give all the answers fully, requires this new Desigh Book.i aee | INTRODUCTION TO MULTIHULLS ( xecee: ! Henke de Velde and farnity y ales as well as typhoon “Oscar” in the Indian Ocean,The mullihull is @ traditional historic sailing craft from the Pacific. Recent archaeological studies, based on Carbon 14 dating, have proved that it was a successful ocean migration ve- hicle, from at Teast 3,000 years ago. Indeed before AD 500, the Polynesians had conquered the heart of the Pacific, the vast ocean which covers approx mately % of the Burth’s surface, This salutary to remember that Western sailing traditions began with the Vikings in AD 800, General appreciation and understanding of the Polynesian or Courtesy OF Pen Pacific concept of sailing was delayed for many years because without Carbon 14 dating and close archaeological studies, it was impossible to believe that such simple-looking craft, ie 2 canoe forms, lashed a few feet apart into a raft shane, could be un effective sailing | machine. Modem studies have shown that much of what was previously classed as “Primitive” in the world, was, in usue, fully developed and highly sophisti- cated in application, (eg, the crude-looking stone | circle at Slotieheng in Brilain is a com- plex astronomical ealeulsting machine), ‘The canoe form, ten, or more, times as Tong as it is wide, gives very little wave drag, and can be driven to. high speeds with minimum energy. ‘The raft, ! its developed sailing form, like the Peruvian balsa Tog raft ships, (see the “Kon ‘Tiki” Voyage by ‘Thor Heyerdah!), or hastily. con: structed rafis from spars of sinking square-riggers, or con- structed in materials of modem high technology, like the inflatable liferaft of sireraft andl modem shipping, is regarded ax the most. stable of sca forms. Combine the easily driven, easily built canoe form with a raft shape, and one has an easily- built,’ casily-driven craft, with superb “form stability” “Form Stability”, derived from the cross-sectional shape of the boat, helped by intelligent stowage of weight, is the means by which the vast majority of seagoing vessels throughout the history of man, have resisted the tum ing-over effects of waves. A very small exception to the majority, is the modem keel yacht, which in general has no “form stability”, but is held up- right, solely by a ballasted fin or keel. Remove the ballast, and the yacht will Hop over onto its side, or further. ‘This “Ballast Stability" of the modern yacht has developed over & period of years as a by-product of pleasure- yachismen taking traditional hull “form stalble” small fishing/work boats, and increasing their sail area. Slocum’s “Spray”, de pendant on “form stability”, is an example of the small wor kboat. before yachting development In using hull “form stability” to resist wave action, the mulli- hull confarms lo design principles used by the modem ocean liner, ng boat, and historical sailing ip. {Ii 1s the modern yacht, relying on “ballast stability”, which is radically different from general and historie vrafl!}, Tt is a fact that modern multi hulls have capsized, and some vill go oa capsizing, due to in- sufficient understanding by some designers of the hiatorie principles behind the desi of “form- siuble” seagoing craft. “They have capsized for 2 reasons, The major reason tas been an, excess of sail are over stability cue to the influence of racing. ‘Traditional Duteh “form-stable” monobulls, the Bottors, the Schauwen, the Jollen, have, at the most, just over 100 sq. Il. of sail to tae ton. displacement. Modes ballasted Quarter ton keel racing boats, sailed using crew weight as extia ballast, have at tae most 300 sq. ft. of sail Lo the ton displacement, Some off- shore multihulls ate carrying 500-1000 sq. ft. of sail to the ton displacement. hese lazge multihull sail areas overcome hull “form stability”, turning the resultant muttibull into a larger version of the modem light-weight, over-canvassed, sail- ° + Foundd-the-buoys, dinghy It has been suggested that by using water-ballast chambers and pumps, the _over-canvassed capsizing multihull can be self- righting ike the movem keel yacht. It must be remembered in the accounts of modern keel yachts which have rolled over and righted im offshore bad ‘woather conditions, loss of mast and sails is frequent, s0 is injury, or loss of crow members and invariably, the complete destruc Hon of the expensive interior of the yacht! Traditional sail aren usages «void A.small proportion of trimazan designs, in the buoyaney and positioning of their floats, relative to the main hull, do not hav sufficient hull “form-siability when heeled over by the rogue wave. ‘These are the only multi hulls capsized by wave conditions.HANNEKE - Duteh JAMES WHARRAM British | ir'a ited entleratinorser ene mes Wharrer coosaner WHARRAM ”__ DESIGNS sailors; by telephone, letters, personal meetings and the “Seal similar boats People” magazine, the communi- ideals, Tis imb is tiree people: cation line of the “Polynesian James Wharram, Hanneke Boon, Catamaran Association” with Ruth Wharram. world wide membership — plus the world wide group of agents Ideas and designs flow out gS Fee a aerack wad ate Uamelvos bullers an Lt A the hub; ideas and experiences sailors of Wharram catamarans. low back fram builders andShared James Wher ram's" eatly"plonearng Wovens! She ome one of tho fit people to be the rly 1950" nen 93 fai thee the "ancient Gaubslecsnoe ofthe Poly rotinne woe ‘ba the Mop moet 7 Atonle Evestal voyager by cot e's witer snd aot: ssaher, aod hes hal Soveral artes of har firsts no WHARRAM SEEN BY THE WORLD OF YACHTING Over 25 years Wharram designs have had generous editorial coverage from the world’s yacht magazines, and refute a widely held muitihull opinion that yacht magazines are not interested in ‘multihulls This report by Daniel Mac- Naughton in the American Wooden Bont magazine July/ August 1978 explains the design ideas clear and lyrical: “These vessels are not an imposition upon the sea “Their safety comes from the fact that they are moderate fn all respects. ‘hey do not gamble, or make @ dare with the ocean, for the sake of more speed or Iuxurious accommodation, they use resillience instead of brute strength, easily driven hulls instead of great power and instead of high to ensure their success and harmony with their surroundings.” An article written hy Geoff Pack, Practical Boat Owner 1981, gives generous credit to the value of Wharram Catamarans in the development of off-shore multi bull sailing: “They've been built in jungle clearings, sailed t0 and in all corners of the world, many have been finished and rigged in the strangest fashion, and often have the most unpronounce- able Polynesian names. Yet with nearly §,000 sets of plans sold, and well over a quarter of « million deep sea miles covered, there can be little doubt that Wharram catamarans have done for offshore sailing what the Minor did for dinghy sailing. ”aii aM Wes ste WHARRAM SEEN BY THE WORLD OF YACHTING (continued) Bill Beavis wrote in “Yachting Monthly’ (Oct. 1982) not so much about Wharram boats but about Wharram. Any prospec- tive builder will be investing considerable time and money in a design so itis to their advantage to know the background of the designer. THE MAVERICK by Bill Beavis Each generation of yachl designers produces its own, very noticeable, individual, One man whose personality and opinions ‘are so strong, whore style is 60 marked that, like the painter and his art, his work can be recognised instantly, Past names come easily to mind; Colin Archer, Nal Herreshoff, Jack Laurent Giles but’ who could we choose today? Who, ina modern world where technology and method have brought, if not @ uniformity, then at least a same: ness lo everything, could we say still stands out from the rest? T should like to nominate James Wharram, designer of the Poly nesian eatamarans. dames is not the kind of designer somebody once had in ‘mind when ke commenced them as the “backroom boys Indeed, if a juvenile tag must be em- ployed, then enfant terrible seems ‘more eppropriate. In faet in 30 years of yacht design and build ing James Wharram has probably attracted as many critics as disciples, There is no half-way position 80 far as his work is concerned: you either dite it or don't, And since sis personality is so indefinably linked, so the same might be said of ‘himself. In the words of this native Lancastrian, James Wharram is “ais own man’, which also impties iat he ean dismiss conventional opinions, Ilis first outrageous act, in the eyes of established yachting, was lo propose that a native’ style twinsrulled cance could be sailed sofely across oceans. And this at « time when authorities such as Hurnphrey Barton were writing that ‘cata marans were only suilable for sheltered waters’ — and let's make the distinction here because Wharvam’s double canoe wes, in evolutionary terms, a long way back fram Barton’s coneeption of a cat which would inciude superstructure and, as likely as not, @ float at the top of the mast. Nobory likes to be proved wrong, 80 in 1955 James Wharram went akead, built a 23ft. twin hull canoe’ on the Polynecian principle and sailed it to the West Indies, but his achtevement was alaost completely ignored by the yachting establishment. James had sailed with two ua married Jady companions, and toy ti time one of them was pregnant. James well understood that neither achievements was likely to get him elected to the Squadron, bul an Atlantic crossing in such a Small and un- conventional craft shoutd have been worthy of some smut rexpeet from British yachtsmen. On the contrary, for the most part they snubbed him. Hs morals, they considered, were more primitive than his boat. But that was 30 years ago. in this time the Flower People have heen and gone, and in their walee his once extraordinary behaviour now appears quite normal. His early pronouncements too, about the need to eseape @ machine- dominated society, also seem £0 have become commonplace, fr the: same: period, and much due to his efforts, we have seen multihulls grow into aeceptable ocean sailers, with many of the radical features he pioneered now a part of everyday practice. Hight thousand sets of Wharram catamaran plans have been sold: lunitations can be seen every- where; Ruth, his former ship- mate, is now Mrs, Wharram, and Jarnes himself has even been photographed in a three-piece suit at the Boat Show. In the accepted sense he has become @ pillar of the establishment and yet... he still makes us feel uncomfortable, Why és this? He is a crusader; crusaders maiee everyone uncomfortable. They wave flay, they beat drums. In short, they are @ nuisance; they prod the satisfied conscience. James Wharram has been a crusader since the time he unloaded the hulls of fis £200, engineless boat from the bach of @ borrowed lorry and discovered the freedom that could be had witht this simple kind of craft For him it was the end of years in the wilderness, the weary apprenticeship he set himself, travelling the country doing this job and that, learning the craft of «@ sailor and builder, and all the white suffering the uncertainty that a desultory lifestyle can give you. He had thrown up @ promising career, and the ‘waste* of 0 much school time and study and paremal disapproval gnawed at his conscience, Only with the successful launch of his boat was hie sure that it had all been worthwhite,In Trinidad, James. the erst- while architect, builta Polynesian type raft Rouse. It was on the raft, while the baby was on its ay, that James started to design a 40jt. boat. It was another catamaran, similar in concept to the Fist, but with better sea- heeping features, notably good reathues of buoyaney and a vee. shaved hull — iris first had been flat battornesd, The boat was built on a beach under the palm trees with some eariy assisiance from Henry Wakeian and Bernard Moitessier. rhis was the boa! which finally brought them home to Wales. Wharram believed that the con- tentment and self-confidence that the had found in thiv Polynesian" Hfestyle could be passed on to others. It became his crusade to encourage people away from the stifling pattern of their everyday tives on the deck of asimiply made boat. Of course, it is a cliche today, but remember, we are talking of the 1950s, And it is here we come to another reason why, in my opinion, James Wharrarn stands ‘aut from his contemporaries, Go fo any other designer and you come away with a roll of plans; go to Wharram and you come out with drawings plus a philo- sophy! And that is not so nebulous as i sounds, because the mavement he engendered has developed into a loose-Rnit club, what he calls ‘a community of the sea’, where people share an interesé in Polynesian catamarans fand to some extent, Polynesian culture). They ieeep in touch rough James's magazine, cor respond, and turn up at his base from time to time. Ht is en- couruging for the beginner to have such @ large group behind him, offering advice or help, and by their very number generally reinforeing his lonely ideas, Not only does tis give impetus, but the first time builder begins to oa feel a responsibility to finish what he has started, I should imagine that fewer people fall down on the building of Wharran cats than any other boat you can think of, although thot would not be the only reason, People who eriticise Polynesian catamarans, for whatever design or constructional feature, con- veniently overlook the baste principle. {t isa romantie notion perhaps (although who said the yea was ever diporced from romancet) bul the big doubte canoe, the ancient ship of the Pobynesians, was the vescel that carried (at proud and resource- ful people, along with their pigs and goats, away’ from the threats of their enemies to the open blue waters of the Pacific. And that ts not too distant a concept from today; many people who feel under thveat could feel sympathy with their fiberation, But Wharram's argument is, and this i the tangible link, that the Potynesian cat is still the easiest boat to build, the quickest and the cheapest! It fast if your enemies are in hot pursuit, it is comfortabie, and spacious too, if ‘you've got pigs and goats to think ‘about, In fact, the Fotynesion ‘eat remains the perfect vessel for a migration. Janes doesnt get out of the house much these days. Tis drawing board makes heay demands and he can no longer take off for years or even months at a time, The restriction hax made him realise just how many other people are in the same situation, and reuch as they mig Jove to ran around nated, picking coconuts, they simply ‘havent the time,” Still this hasn'¥ stopped his erusade, just made for a change in direction that’s all, and lately he has been concentrating on a range of ‘camping eats’ — smaller boats which can be trailed behind « family car and assembled on a beach. One asks just how practical this will be, clearing away a space amang the deck chairs, to throw up a2 ft.x aft. eatomaran? But why ask, James is certain to have done it! Like I heeep saying, it's what makes him 0 different from other designersi DESIGN APPROACH Bill Beavis, in his word por: trait, hes shown that. T have always stood on one side of the mad rush of modern life with a very seeptical eye. Hehas written on my approach to life and design “from the outside’. 1 will now try to write ‘from the inside’ looking out, how my sea ex periences and life attitudes have shaped my designs. Some designers show their designs on. a single straight line, implying that what is behind is, bad, what is present ‘state of the at’ is bearable, and. somewhere in the distant fulureis perfection This may have been so for the internal combustion engine, but boats are not internal-combustion engines, they have been around & Jong time, far longer than the internal ‘combustion engine, Jonger than cities, they even pre- date fam animals ancl agriculture: They are one of man oldest artelacts T see design as a circle in which 1 constantly go wound, in the drawing it is shown as an ascend ing spiral because Lam continually adding life experiences and know- ledge of new materials to Basic Concepts. Each time I design boat, [ think myself into the boat, T become a part of the boal, I am the boat. On my spiral of design 1 constantly return to Unree types of boat, 1. The first rype is the small boat, wr ‘envelope exten- sion’ around my own body that enables me to take to the sea, 2. The second type of boat is the family boat, where Land my fasmily tive safely, and in more space, on the seas. 3, The third type isthe tribal or group boat where ‘more than the immediate Family sail together. There is no fixed division between one type or the other, a boat like the NARAIMk. IV or the CAPTAIN COOK can be a big family boat or a small group boat, but these three concepts are basie behine all the designs in this brochure. Rabiaes me NARAL Me iy — gUNeT Ova,MY FIRST CATAMARAN” a DESIGN Burope’s first successful off- shore catamaran, the 23ft, 6in. TANGAROA which I designed and built, in 1968/54, was based ) on a Tahitian fishing canoe design, a mode! of which was ex- hibited in a British Science "Museum, and dais from Haddon and Homell’s book ‘Canoes of Oceana’. There was no other design date available, On this boat, we crossed the Atlantic in 1955/56 Te was “successful” in that it carried two women, one man, ‘one dog and 200 books across the Atlantic and on arrival the crew were sill interested in the calamaranjmultihull concept (three previous Euzopean al- lempts at crossing the Atiuntie (py catamaran, two German and ‘one French, iad crews abandon- ing'heir craft. on wevival in the West indies with horror) THE defects of this design were as follows: It had a flat Spor rhe pomdad, is 8 DESIGN DEVELOPMENT 1 will use the boats that I have built and sailed in the past as examples, lo show how their hull forms, ave developed in the light of experience and in- creased theoretical knowledge. ual hull beam/length ratio et Jacement wave its wry Tull_hows, although they prevented “pitch-poling, gave a slow null pee POLYNESIAN PRINCIPLES UNDERSTOOD AND OCEAN TESTED A long oeean voyage ran to windward without clarify issues of boat design in a daggerboards or centre semarkable fashion. During the boards, 28ft. Gin, ‘TANGAROA trans- 3. Flexibly mounted beams abluntie oveun voyage, ideas and doting bill Egeohon Concepts on ancient Polynesian offshore double canoes as des- eiped by Captain Cook and other canly European Pacific explorers, 7 ; plus the lees of Ere de Bisshop, In. 1957 in. Isinidad, West pp ee ee a een maran sailor, in his book ‘The RONGO on these principles and. Voyage of the Kuimiloa’ (Hawaii sailing from Trinidad to New to Cannes 1937/39), became York. and from New York to . understandable. On arrival in the Britain in 1959, made the firs! See Ce eee gett tucson” Nowint- Abit gearal piineapies a crossing by multihull. Duzing 1960/64 I led a sea life on the Ey Narrow Beam/length patio first RONGO, making two more full Atlantic crossings and numerous 2, Veed cross-section to sail coastal voyages. (Photo right) 4.No permanent deck eatin between hudls2 a R POLYNESIAN PRINCIPLES 2 22585, seu of ny writings, I was being asked to design for others, and out of ten INTO MODERN DESIGN years of catamaran pioneering sailing experience this hull form emerged: ‘CLASSIC’ HULL A wry crilicism of this hull seas the catamaran slides sido- shape for the long, slim hulls of form was made by Denny ways, the wide hull flare multihulls isthe eaaoe stem. Desoutter, founder and editor of _preventing capsize. ‘The overhanging eanoe stern is the Practical Boat Owner maga- Tt has been ealeulated by in- BOE only oconomical and easy xine. THe said “James, you design dependent yacht architects that -‘* Construct, it enables you to bouts to meet sew conditions (je hull form ean recover from a "2 before heavy seas without which 95% of our Practical Boul 990 eel betterfequal than most Testing tuxbulence, and lifts you Owner readers never encounter”. Sommmencial ships’ or inflatable -VeF_tdvancing following waves, "This hull form with flare, bow Be that as it may, it has been _life rafts on the ocean today, The mn fone of the most successful safe canoe stems are a special feature 1d stern overhangs, a.canoe stern hull form concepts in the history of this hull form. that does not create turbulence on immersion, is ® great load camier and refutes the myth thal multihulls have to be of multihulls, Ts overhanging bows and wide flare prevent Canoe Sterns pitch poling, that is, driving the ‘Many multihull designers re Bows underwater and capsizing gard the slern a non design arca, ‘lightly londed. over ils nose. Ile wide flare imitating monohull practice During the 1970s, I developed prevents beam capsizing, for a where the stern is designed for a further full shape on the same catamaran rides the wa like a crew boarding or to flatten big principles which [called the PAHI raft and does not roll on being displacement waves that you get. shape, This hull shape has the hit by 2 heavy beam sea like 2 from a fal Mlalsterned racing same soa safely characteristics as monohull, Hit by heavy beam monohull, The natural stern the ‘Classic’ null shape. ‘PAH HULLWHARRAM DESIGNS AS ‘MODIFIED’ BY OTHER DESIGNERS ARAM SEARIDING LENGTH-—— — —— or wt un IFIED! WHARRAM HULL: —— nt M01 ODATION/WLL BOTH HULL (above) As Till Meqvis in the Yachting stern off and replace it with an ‘Another aitempt £0 increose hut Monthly magazinenoted,our hull inward sloping transom or, oven seuonmodation igo itd sie form has been widely copied. T worse, an indented inward sloping extensions (Saener $0, the: Rell Inky, hhave been pleased to soe other transom, and rediice bow over (MF fenime deck. During the years designers increasingly using its hangs ony to encoumeer pounding protlenne seaworthy aspects like overhangs, an the underside in heauy ew flare, canoe stern and no deck ‘Therefore, for accommortation conditions. cabins. What I do object to is purposes, it can be totally mis I these wings are kept email enough the people who corrupt this now Teading to compare the owrait 1m nauling, we feel that che lassie hull form due to lack of length of a ‘Wharram’ with the “Dogs fuvred dors ot earn the over sea experience, oF desire for overall length of other multiull a commercial gain designs. In this brochure, the ‘The overhangs on the Wharrain Waeriine Lengti will, therefore, eatamazans, az has already been Th is what frequently be given as a major data figure. explained, are there to prevent happens: pitch-poling, for running before To make the secommodation What T have been asked is, heavy seas,” and for the overall seem bigger on a given overall why have I not shortened my _seaworthinese of the boat. ‘They Jength and to make the hull hull forms to “conform”? add ttle in building time and form look ‘modern’ ie. conform Visually, T like the profile of material cost ta the boal. Why te modern monohull racing my hull forms to have u non- throw these positive advantages shapes, they chop the cance fashionable, timeless look. away for temporary fashion? ULLS THE SAME ——The hull shape and rig are nol the only parts of design, equally important is How to Build the design, for if the building methods shown on the plans are complicated or incorrectly ‘worked out, the bost never gets finished or when finished, shows a marked difference to the designers original conception. It is a fact that many boats that come out of professional yards are substantially different to the yacht designers crigiaal design. ‘The professional builder has the skill and experience to tum the yacht designer's visual dreams into practical reality. "The GONSTRUCTION APPROACH amateur or self-builder in general does not have this necessary experience, I/we have always seen a major part of our task ax designers to make the design plans readable and the boat simple to build. In construction design, J have not moved in a spiral, but in a continuous straight line to reduce the number of parts to cut, shape and fit including, not only those forming the achual bost structure, but, equally imporlant, the boat building base and construction moulds. ‘The following drawings, covering the whole of my design? building life, show what | mean. CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT Fig, 1 shows @ drawing taken from a book called ‘Boat Building in Your Own Back Yard" by 8.5. Rabl and published by Cornell Press, New York in 1947, “The majvity of do-it-yourself yacht designs still use the principles of this drawing, myself partially used it on my 234. Gin, Tangaroa in 1953/54 and wholly used it for the building of the 40#t, Rongo in Trinidad in 1957, Building Rongo in the Tropics was a hard tough job made harder by the complexities of this traditional building base con: struction method. See fig. 2. “TRADITIONAL BUILDING BASE METHOD Trinidad 1957, ie 3) Fig. 2 i» dtawing of RONGO, buill by teed ‘onal mastoid ‘To start, it has 14 harks of timber forming building toate, all to ge levelled and squared by measivezsent aed spirit level ‘Thie is followed by 9 frames, stom and stern posta to 30h 1p Suave by messuremont, plum bob aud level ~ ach to be notched for B lingers; Le. 110 nocehes to be cut ate right bevel. (See ‘Thin ip alill the siendaed method in most amateur boat com structions!REVOLUTIONARY WHARRAM ASSEMBLY METHOD In 1965, when design- ing became my major activity, a first design priority was the simpli- fication of the traditional building method Biz 4: Backbone constructed on, lines devo reduce THE CLASSIC DESIGNS 1 felt it vital to get rid of the heavy building base, numerous frames and many measurements, and exploit. “welding” techniques in wood, using the new boat glues coming ‘on the market, These ‘ideas developed into the ‘Back- bone and Bulkhead” system. See fig. 5. Whichever way you look at the method, it is radically dif- ferent from the previous system, In fact the slotted backbone and bulkheads are the jig and building base of the boat, but, instead of Umowing away the Jig and build. ing base alter boat completion, as in the traditional method, they become an integral parl of the boat. We reduced by many the number of measurements neces- WHARRAM BACKBONE & BULKHEADS METHOD sary for ensuring that the various parts of the boat were in line, replacing measurements by using simple sight lines. See fig. 5. A further revolution of design was that we did not notch stringers into bulkheads, but nailed and glue welded them to bulkheads “and used packing pieces between them for the ply- planking, see fig. 6. Once the boat was ply-planked, stem and stem posts and a thick keel were built. of laminated planks, then the hull was rolled over and the cabin furniture between bullheads used as an integral part of the hull strength struc- ture, replacing the strength that previous boat construelion methods, sce fig. 2, had obtained with numerous eomplicated notched frames ( \ \ GR) 1 gre tomes by harkbone wl inner heel pak shons the drastic reduction wf picess of wood, measure and sayy cute to reach the ply jlaukiuy sage of Ihe WHTARM Ad ‘Classie" building system. he evesishting system and squaring off the centre line string shables the boat ¢0 be built ons hil soy and tll to be squares individually eut and bevelled notches, packing weean siringers on 2 pre-berciled bulkhead 1sTHE PAHI DESIGNS ‘Thousands of designs have been sold and built using the Classic construction method. But by the mid-seventies we were already looking al ways of cutting down construction times even further. We were looking for a ull form which had curved sections; we were looking for a hhulll shape that was as distinctive as the original Classic shape be: PAHI BUILDING METHOD cause already, see section on design, the Classic design was being copied. Out of these many requirements came the Pahi designs. ‘The Pahi backbone and bulkhead system is the same as the Classie design but it lacks the laminated Keel and stem & stem posts that in the Classic designs require heavy planing. With the increasing use of epoxies, the Pahi construction method is evolving into even greater simplicity.THE ‘COASTAL TREK’ PLY/EPOXY/ GLASS LAMINATE CONSTRUCTION At the 1976 ‘Mullibull Sym- posium” held in Toronto, Canada, Mead Gougeon of WEST epoxy gave a talk on the advantages of epoxies in wooden baat con- struction; particularly the special epoxies that he had modified for boat construction work. In 1979, T met him again at the “HISWA” Symposium in Holland, Since 1976, I had been thinking of the possibilities of using this new — boatbuilding material, epoxy. During a coffee break, I told Mead Gougeon, that I would design boats using his epoxy. which would be as simple to build as Origami. With the use of epoxy in small boats, I had seen the possibility of oblaining a soft curved veed-hull shape without the necessity of backbones, nails, sorews ete, We make two completed sides of the boat and place them on top of each other, fit the keel strip, ply stem and stern posts) skege between the two sides, stitch them together with copper wire, put in the bulkheads to give it shape and Instant Boat Hull, see fig 7. ‘The bulkheads, keel, stem and stern posts are then welded in place with epoxy putty, the bunk shelf and diagonal stiffeners are added with epoxy putty/glue; the boat is decked, cabined and totally covered in fibreglass cloth and epoxy resin, You end up with a boat in a new material: Ply/ Epoxy/Qlass Laminate, with the hardness and durability of epoxy and glass on the outside of the boat and the beauly of wood on the inside. The advantages of this boat building method and quality of the first major design built to it (ie, the TIKT 21) was im- mediately recognised in that this design won the ‘Cruising World’s 1982 Design Competition for a “trailerable gunicholer”. Since 1981, we have sold over 1400 plansof these new ply lass! epoxy/laminate stileh and glue designs, ranging from the 14f HITIA ‘through to the TIKI 31 Workboat/Traveller. TIKI 21 HULL The bulkheads, heel, stem and stern posts are then welded in place with epoxy putty, OTHER BUILDING MATERIALS Foam/Glass Sandwich We have designed and built in foama glass sandwich (TANENUL and the original AREOI proto- types), but found that to do the Job properly and to give long life, fon the principles of sound glass laminate construction, this con- struction method was much harder and more time consuming than is generally realised. ‘The easy foam-sandwich tech niques that the public knows of, which were developed for quic! built, one-off racing boats that have a structural life of one/two years, have not the structural Integrity that the eruising sailor demands. Some of the early boats of this type only lasted one ‘ong race. Tn recent years the addition of Kevlar and carbon fibres lo the flass laminate foam-sandwich, is producing stronger and longer Tasting foum-sndwich boats but at a much higher cost. Strip Planking ‘Another ‘new’ construction method for multihulls has been the use of strip planking, epoxied. logether and covered wilh fibre- glass cloth on both sides, ‘The photographs of boats built in this method, show the same building melhod for strip planking — in- qluding numerous moulds and building base — as illustrated in Fred Rabl’s book of 1947 in the chapter on ‘Strip Planking’! As this method requites in addition many timber strips forming the hulls, all adding Lo the number of pieces of wood to be handled, cut and shaped, ie. = building time, we have nol worked on oF developed this method Aluminium For the fortunate few who understand aluminium eonstruc- tion or have access to aluminium construction experts, our designs are convertable to lhis form of construction. Steel Steel, we found too heavy a material for use in ‘unballasted” ‘multibull construction. 7alma spon al a —_ FF OT a Lb ‘Top left TANGAROA Mk. 1V Sulit in Piuland, Insulation and Heating are vital if trying to build through the winter. ‘Pop right: taaly NSRAL built in a gellar. Notice the close head- oom aver the keel ‘Above right: Better conditions WARAT in ap aircraft hhatgar: Use only problem was Ghat the owner had to move his part built hulls seveeal hunéeed miles Poveach new station posting. ‘Above: Our TEMINT, builtin the Spon — whieh we do’ NOT adlise todo. Right: Provide beer and there are Wharram designs have been built everywhere: bars, facto- ries, cellars, hangars, barges, attics, under temporary polythene sheds or just in the open — from the Wopics to near the arctic circle — by highly skilled craftsmen, by absolute beginners, ‘These photographs show a few of the hundreds that have been buill Piso: Fabel EvansTop right: Spoxy coating tthe bulleheges a a PAIL 31 This boat wes buill wedged diagonally “aeross a tiny arden, Meat boatbuilding condi Hons for these 3 “PAHD builders: Top left: PAU SLi U.S.A. Relow Mighty PAH 42 in Mollane. The “for sale” notion was to shock the designer, bul, 10 be truthful, most of us at some time during the build ing fel like doing just that! Below left: PART 42 in Austria, net Orie tee ‘The stitch and glue method, bottom left and right, was developed to speed up building. Our building conditions (left? TISTROA in + yelyihone shed rights HITIA in a damp garage) have “improved? over outdoor building of TEHINI. “James Whneram Designs’ have experienced the trauma of building under difienlt conditions Allowance for difficult conditions is an aspect of Wharram Designs in construction anc plan drawings,WHY FLEXIBLE HULL CONNECTIONS? Many people new to multihulls ure concerned, and quite rightly, about the two or three hulls separating ‘There are four accepted methods of joining the hulls together: J. By @ deck shown), cabin (not 2. By rigid box beams rigidly fixed to the hulls. (fig. 1) 3 By aluminium — cross beams rigidly fixed to the hulls, (fig, 2) 4. By rigid cross beams flexibly mounted to the hulls, (fia. 3) All these above methods cor rectly designed are ‘safe’. We have always followed method 4 because it reduces stress al the attaching points. TL enables the boat to ‘give’ to the sea and, equally important, for the hulls to Uwist out of line without strain wher going aground on an_un- even ‘botiom’ in harbour. It is how to calculate the stresses that has given designers using any of the four methods problems. Recently shipping authorities in Australia have been requiring that commercial catamarans should be strong enough to have ‘one hull damped to a wall with ‘out the bridgedeck and other hull falling off (i. cantilevered), We have used this safety standard, plus « safety factor of minimum 3, since 1957, plus other methods of stress calcula tion based on our many years of sea observation, (heloco): Blextble rape ult connections ton the Coattal Trek Dasiges (TIKI 21), We consider both the PALE and Coustal ‘Trek lashing methods safe only. with the use of modern highteck aynthetic ropes. fig. 1 \. Kt fig. 2 tance stag = CLASSIC METHOD a —w |Sem A fully assembled NARAT MR. I being lowered by its beams off @ harbour wall, Ream fittings and. fastenings are de. signed for non-sailing as well as sailing. No deck cabin means that the hulls can be assem bled on the beach between tides (TANGAROA Mk. IV).22. WHARRAM OPEN DECK CATAMARANS For a major part of mulizhull history — from our first TANGAA- ROA design in 1934 to the mid-seven ties — James Wharram's catamaran designs were unique in. having no deck cabin, just a slatted deck between the two hulls Originally when Tiawe ventured as pioneers across the oveans on our catamarans, the question of “what would happen out there" oon the high seas was a maticr of guesswork, rom my earlier, pre-multihull, experiences, I could ‘see’ the stormy seas rolling ight across the raftlike catamaran and any decke cabin structure filling with, water, raising the contre of gravity, with the captured water rolling with subsequent waves, inducing eapsizing Thor Heyerdabl on his KON ‘TIKI voyage in 1947 had extolled the ability of the KON TIKT raft to rise up through boarding seas with the water pouring through the matting decks and gaps between the raft logs He had discovered an essential safely principle of ccrtain hither- to despised non-western eraft, He called this prineiple, rather in: elegantly the ‘wash-thxough craft Jn 1954, Taw the two hulls of 1984 Wharram Deck Cabin Catarnacat Desig a catamaran as two ‘buoyant logs! and the slatted deck, like Heyer- dahl’s woven bamboo and reed. decks, wave-permeable. On the first crossing of the Bay of Biscay and the South Atlantic on the 23°6" TANGAROA, we were swept by wave crests and the waves poured through the slats, pressing uz on to the deck instead of washing us overboard, ‘As described on Page 11, 1 we made the first multibull crossing of the North Atlantic aboard the 40 ft. (12.19 m) RONGO in 1958/59. ‘There I leat that a ealamaran with overhangs and flare has enormous lift. Only the breaking crests, not solid waves, swept the vessel in severe storms, Towever, the breaking cesta can be 3 ft. deep, not sufficient water to give lift to the craft but sufficient to flood it In the mid-1960s T considered building my — then new to the public — designs with a deck cabin. Drawing below, shows a design which I had sketched out al the time, with the underside of the cabin high above the sea surface to avoid pounding, We never pul this design on the matkel, for there were other ad: vantages than storm-worth iness to the no-deck cabin catamaran TMaving ne deck cabin means: 1. The boat can be built land and transparted to the sea for assembly, one full at @ time, (See photo page 21), 2, The labour and materials put into a deck cabin can be put into building bigger hulls, i.e, a larger sea boat, B.The flexible mounting system can be used which is asimportant for settling on an uneven harbour bottom, as ‘sea give’ or flex resistance to cap- sizing. 4. There is a definite psy. chological advantage in having lwo separate hulls: The deck cabin catamaran has more enclosed volurve for accommodation; how. ever, the two hulls and deck-cabin form a One- Space-Unit. Paychologt- ally, one carnot get away from. the other crew members. The two separate hulls of the Wharram designs form — Two-SpaceUnits, giving psychological ex. cape from other crew members, 3. The large, open, non hecling decks of the Wharram Catamarans pro: vide not only another paychologieal eseape area, space for exercise and sunbathing, platforms for dinghies, saitboards etc, but an extremely safe sai handling area. This is not equalled by any monohull of the same size and by very few other multihuls, ‘They enable large num bers of day passengers to he carried (for example 20 people on a 40 footer 12 m). Many Wharram designs are usedt for day charter. 6. There is less windage for faster tacking and better windward performance (without the necessity of deep heels/centre/dagger- boards.No Longer Unique. T was for reason 6 with the development of fast offshore catamazan racers from the mid: 70s on, that the mo deck cabin uniqueness of the Wharram cata- maran ceased. It is now the recounisedd way of building a fast offshore catamaran! Dock Pods Paradoxically, in two of the latest Wharram designs, the PAHI 12 and PAHT 63, there appear to bbe deck cabins. ‘These are deck pods. They are aot an integral part of the boat structure, They do not interfere with the flexi- bility end can be removed without loss of strength or sailing ability of the boat. They are low, present litile windaye and their underside is @ fie, wave crest height, above the sea They provide shelter for the deck Cabin Entry Hatches A minor, but important, point of the Wharesm deck design is hat all main cadin entry hateines face into the safe platform and are as far away from the sea as possible, Aft facing entry into the living atea is a derivative of monodull design and unsuitable for the non-deck cabin mullihull (Aboue): Deckspace for exercise, sunbathing, parties, storing dinghies, suilbourds ote. Note the mast position for safe sailhundling (Oro) (Below): Large numbers of day passengers can be carried (NARAT Mk, Il)INTERIORS APPROACH TO ACCOMMODATION When I first beyan my sailing career 1 was rather like the poet John Masefield in only wanting *A tall ship and a star to steer her by”. Previous to my sailing career I had been a mountaineer, requiring only a small dry tent, 2 comfortable sleeping pad and cooking utensils, The “Luxury? ‘was solilude and a marvellous T have described my attitude towards desi as being like an ascending spiral with different concepts to which T constantly retum with new ideas or new materials. My attitude towards uecommodation design has fol- lowed this spiral pattern. FUNCTIONAL INTERIORS T carried my mountaineering camping experiences into my earlier catamaran interior design, seeing the inside of the boat as an efficient “living” machine with comfortable big bunks (Tam GIL, Zin, Wall), a place to spread my papers, books, charts and naviga- tion equipment in one hull, and in the other hull a place.for the Functional chartroom tn @ own the-worta ‘Wharsare cooking utensils. For some yeason, though I am not shy about nakedness T am about my natural functions and always damanded a separate toilet. My early ‘Classic’ designs, the NARAT Mk. [and Mls, all had this func tional interior design. ‘Luxury’ in my tent had been looking at the high mountains —~ on my early boats, for ‘luxury’ T stood jn the hatch or sat on the deck Jooking at the sea or at beautiful anchorages. 0 Boea NARAT Mk. IV Charéroom, com. fortable seating and room for a workbench! THE LUXURY INTERIOR In the late 60s and early 60s, a Jot of other people also felt that way about small yacht interiors In the 70s, as a result. of Boal Shows, und a larger number of people taking to the seas for the fisst Lime, concepis began to change, ‘The best way to explain it would be to say: from the tent concept, to the miniature luxury home on wheels, ic. the caravan, As my designs got bigger and move developed and as I too, got influenced by attendance of Boat Shows, the NARAT Mk. IV, CAPTAIN COOK, and on a smaller scale, the AREOL, developed along the luxury caravan principles. Drawing on right, taken from a Study Plan, shows what Imean, ‘These boats, for waterline length, have accommodation and work top table space second to none. rata, Hanwcke Beet PARE 42 galley/ lounge. Sitting space for up to 7 peopte round the table, galley big enough for 2 cooks. 25THE FLEXI-SPACE INTERIOR Moving on around the Spiral, 1 am now taking a fresh look at accommodation concepts. ‘The CAPPAIN COOKS I have visited are undoubtedly luxurious boats, but I personally prefer sailing to building. Locked up in that interior luxury is perhaps one third of the total building time of the boat. If one goes back to the simplicity of the tent fas against the caravan, it means one can build a bost one third faster, or a simple boat. one third bigger, in the same time as the luxurious one. Porhaps my move from sim- plicity of accommodation in my early designs, to the luxury of later ones, was partially due to critical remarks made, like: “Your designs are seaworthy bul spartan”, of “My wife wants more comfort". Accepting that such criticism will probably be ze. peated, T think it only fair that T offer future builders a choice of either luxury accommodation or a new concept of extremely simple accommodation, which we are calling FLEXI SPACE, You could describe ‘Flexi Space as tent versus caravan, or Poly- nesian/Japanese versus European accommodation For did you know, that the Europeans’ habit of sitting on a platform with legs, ie. a chair or stool; eating off a platforna with logs, ie. a table; or sleeping on a platform with legs, ie. a bed, anises from the fact thal our ancestors had very dirty floors in the intertor of their dwellings, castle or voltage, ‘The Polynesians/Japanese be ing extremely clean, were able to sit, eat and sleep on the floor, hence the simple, uncluttered interiors of their traditional housing. 1, myself, am writing this in a Japanese style room of 10ft. x 1bfL, (Gm. x 4.5m) {see photo- ucaph). This is ideal for one to work in comfort, two to three to sleep in and ten people to knee! or sit crosslegged in comfort to eat, or have general conversation Lack of western style fumiture ives flexibility of usage of the room, THE PAHI 63 “FLEXI SPACE” INTERIOR ‘| Toilet/ ‘ Stores ' 6" (183m) long Flexi-Space has no specified area for any activity Double Private CabsinWoven bags Gailey, PAHE 26 Plexi Space Interior ‘The 16 ft. (5.10 m) long space in each hull makes: © two bunies with store space at ends or, © a galley and lounging area or, © @ navigation area with stilt enough space for one person Centra Lounge! Wooden galley ‘box’ whartraomy Meeting Area 12°6” (3.80m} long to lie down, Also note the large amount of storage space created by the V- shaped hull under the florr/ bunk level To show this storage area, the bunk/floor hatches are here removed, ouble Private Cabin 12/9" (3.90sa} long Stores (Spare Single Berth) Flexi Space fas no specified area for any activity. ‘The simplicity of building w Flexi Space interior is visible on (he building photograph of the PAHI 26 (left), the first design using Flexi Space. Ideas deve- loped here were carvied into Lhe ‘TIKI 81 and Lo the ultimate, the PAHL 6, Drawing above shows the PAHT 63, my new dolphin exploration chariee ship, designed totally around the Flexi Space concept. A ship that would have been outside my resources. financially ancl in buildings time, if it lad not been designed using Flexi Space. ‘We believe that the use of gaily coloured, hand woven, personal bags, Japanese futan style mat- tresses, wooden kitchen utensil boxes — all made after the boat hhas been built — will give each boat a warm, personalised unique interior. Who knows, our Flexi Space interior may, in a few years, be regarded os the ‘Luxury Taterior’ of general yacht. design. Builders, before choosing a design, should sit down and carefully think out what do they personally want in the way of accommodation. A guide in their musings towards the simpler Flexi Space is: Do you like camping, are you happy sitting on the floor on a cushion, kneel- ing oF erosselegged???2 ‘Aceepl my guidance on a good hull form, but interior accom modation is very much a personal Using. Do think carefully!!!! a28 RIGS As a designer of multihulls T have been the first in experi- menting with all kinds of rigs: Junk Sails, Square Sail, Sliding Gunter, Standing Lug, Bermudan, Sprit and Gaff Sales, in Ketch, Schooner, Sloop and Cutter Con figuration, all in search for the perfect Rig. What is the “Perfect itig"? It sails well to windward between 85° and 45°, it is economical to buy and easy to handle by one person under squall and gale condilions. After thirly yeurs of sailing T can write confidently that such a rig does not exist What makes a rig superb to windward is a nogative factor in ost and handling ability, for windward efficiency depends on the largest possible sail on the highest possible mast (.c, aspect ratio), made out of the latest expensive modem materials like Kevlar and Mylar. ‘These factors equal expense, and difficulties in sailhandling for the small crew in storm conditions. Boat, usage, cost effectiveness, safe and easy handling are the determinate factors in selecting suitable rig fora design, not solely windward effieiency. Here is an example of what T In the 1985, September edition of Yachting World was an article on the superb place winning Grmd Prix multihull, the ti maran Apricot, designed by Nigel Teens. A beautiful boat that I admire. Tis mast is a carbon fibre wing mast, the cost £60,000, its Kevlar mainsail cost another £12,000. In this brochme is the 63ft, PAHI design, Though I admire Apricot’s rig design, to put it on a G8it. PAHT would be totally inappropriate. The highly ex+ pensive mast ancl rig 3s designed to sail between 45° and a? off the true wind, at these angles in any kind of sea, sailing this close to the wind at. speed, produces an incredibly violent motion. ‘The usage of the PAHI 63 is for charter guests, marine laboratory, comfortable cruising; and the people who pay for such activities do not want to be tortured out of their minds for windward racing effieieney, fessionally build, for the same price as the mast and mainsail alone of the 80ft. racing trimaran Apricot! Jam not makinga value judgement, but T have a friend who used Une phrase “Horses for Courses”, so it is with ‘Rigs for Boats’, Economically one can have tine schooner rigged PAHI63 pro- fig. 2 SPRIT RIG, ori- ginally used on HINA and TANGAROA MK. I (discontinued), now used on HINEMOA (above) 1 and HITIA (left). fig. 3. 3/4 RIG WITH MAST. HEAD DRIFTER, first used on TANE (discontinued); used for its wind-ward efficiency on RAKA and ARIKL. fig9 LOOSE FOOTED BER- MUDAN KETCH RIC with cam- ber control and bratling facility, a5 used on the TANGAROA MK. TV, forerunner of the PAHT righ fig, 11 NARAI “TRADITIONAL” Ga. SCHOONER RIG. Similar mn design to TIKI 31 rig Bui not using the batt | pockets. J, PE10, Pan RIGSwthiooe foot main A A sand sooneatap or watbone boone for camber contro heTnoln con be reefer lowered when runnin Nesioake intact on rate bats fleft), PAHI 42 (right). AR