1979Hrs – Timely Reminder

Today I’ve cracked on with the glass reinforcing on the port hull. I estimate I’ve completed some 30 metres (100 feet) of it today. It’s somewhat tedious work but, as with many aspects of the job, not one that should be skimped.

My past experiences at sea make it fairly easy to predict what ‘Gleda’ will be subjected to out on the worlds oceans but it’s no bad thing to have reminders once in a while.

Some of you may have been following Warren Mathews’ recent blog post about the voyage of his Tiki 38 ‘Natural High’ from New Zealand to Thailand. Whilst on passage NW of New Zealand they encountered 40-50 knot winds with steep, tumbling, confused seas that really put ‘Natural High’ to the test. She came through bruised but intact and Warrens detailed description of what happened is well worth reading. You can see the full post HERE  

Interestingly the main damage to ‘Natural High’ came about as a result of modifications to the Wharram design that had not been carried out properly. She lost her port rudder due to a fitting coming unscrewed and took on some water through the escape hatches that had been fitted near the waterline to comply with New Zealand safety regulations (ironic eh?). They took a wave over the boat that wiped out most of the electrics, again due to a failure to install things correctly, this problem was compounded by ‘Natural High’s many additional electrical systems including electric propulsion.

Warren himself admits that most of these problems could have been prevented had he had time to conduct proper sea-trials and that his deliberate departure from the basic Wharram ‘KISS’ design also contributed but I for one am very grateful that there are folks like him out there pushing the boundaries and passing on such valuable information.

In his most recent post Warren has gone into great detail about how ‘Natural High’ handling the storm conditions and has answered questions from others concerned about the loss of a rudder from a TIKI 38.

The great news is that Warren, who has many years of experience handling catamarans at sea, sings the praises of the Tiki 38 design. Here’s his final quote:

With what I have spent on customising this boat to my personal needs I could have purchased a much larger modern catamaran, but, because I intended to do ocean crossing I opted for the Wharram design…and I am glad I did.

You can read the full post HERE

I’ll be re-reading Warrens posts next time I’m the slightest bit tempted to cut a corner on tedious strengthening work!

Glass cloth ready to saturate, I did the same on the outboard side of the hull