Tiki 30 versus Tahiti ketch cruising livability

[melissajenks]

So I'm at a crossroads--my boating partner and I have two directions we can go--a Tiki 30 in southeast Asia, expensive and with some issues, or monohulls, mainly beamy double-ended steel behemoths in the US. I'm looking for someone who has lived aboard both to discuss realistically cruising comfort in both.

Clearly every boat is a tradeoff. Our previous boat was a Ranger 33, a racing cruiser with no headroom that heeled like a witch. When I think about what made us abandon her it had to do with comfort: insufficient deck space, rolly anchorages, smelly plumbing.

A Wharram Tiki 30 (my choice) would be more like camping. No galley, other than a camp stove, no head other than a bucket--but it seems like these creature comforts are made up for in other comfort. Lying easily in a rolly anchorage, for instance. Or being able to snug up to a beach in a blow.

My concerns about a catamaran have to do with blue-water or bad-weather capability if we eventually decide to cross oceans or even to do overnight passages. Is it realistic for someone with cruising experience (I mean, other than Slocum or Rory McDougall) to contemplate serious cruising in a Tiki?

Catamaran sailors: give me some ammunition.

[boatsmith]

You just happened to pick two boats i have been intimate with. I cruised a Ranger 33 to baja for the season. I also raced another R33 in LA for several years. I built a Tiki 30 and sailed it quite a bit for several years. The Tiki won't heel. The R33 is pretty narrow boat. I remember one night outside of Avalon after an island race when the only way we knew we got any sleep was when we woke up from baning off the overhead. The T30 has a much nicer cockpit and deck areas. It also very narrow bunks. It also has a very light payload. She has small sails and does not sail to weather near as well as a R33. THe Tiki 30 will also do 18 knots which ainagonna happen on a R33. I sail here in South FL and the Bahamas and the Tlik 30 was a great boat for us. It is camping, but more like car camping than backpacking or bike touring. The R33 will sail much better to weather and carry much more load and has an inside head and dinette. I would certainly spend some time on a Tiki 30 to understand the differences and how they work for you.
We can also build a Tiki 30 for you here.

[melissajenks]

I feel like I've been answered by a celebrity--I've been drooling over your fiberglass production Tikis for ages. The R33 is a very narrow boat, and the heeling, combined with the fin keel, made her difficult to self-steer in any kind of seas. There was also very little deck space on the R33, with inboard shrouds, and it made it so living outdoors (the way one wants to in the Bahamas, say) was a bit difficult.

I loved my R33, though. I would have kept her--and lived aboard--till the day I died if things hadn't started falling apart and priorities changed, etc, the way things do on a boat.

What about heavy weather performance in the T30? How long is the longest you've lived aboard a T30? What about the longest you've been at sea, in bluewater, on an overnight passage? Or if you have people you've sold T30s to who have crossed oceans, I'd love to be in touch with them.

Clearly it's possible. People cross oceans in bathtubs. It's just how brave or how terrified one chooses to be.

You don't happen to have any experience with 41-foot steel ketches, do you?

[Cavalier MK2]

If sailing is the goal the Tiki will be better. The ketch will have more room and payload but......steel can be very maintenance intensive. While great for the Arctic you will need to watch the rust.