Wharham pahi 42

[Finditsurfit]

any body know how thease sail or their blue water abilities?

[44'cruisingcat]

Lots of Wharram boats have sailed to all corners of the globe. (Except maybe the Arctic/Antarctic)

[cat man do]

They are fairly undercanvased compared to other cats

Pahi 42 catamaran: Wharram ocean cruiser with traditional canoe-live hulls

Pahi 42 carries about 59.6m2 of sail to windward

compared to say a

Schionning Wilderness 1230 (41 ft), which carries 95m2 to windward

(sorry 44ftcc, I needed a smaller/similar sized boat comparison)

Schionning Designs -

Hard to get into any sort of trouble with heavily reduced sail area.

Dave

[Finditsurfit]

with that smaller sail area are they going to move in lighter winds or be able to hit regular cat top speeds, I know all cats have different cruising speeds but they are usually around the same. also do you think thease will be more succeptable to weight?

[Tnflakbait]

The Pahi should do OK in light winds. These are good tradewind boats. You want to go downwind in 15-25 knts with it. At times it will have better performance than many new cruising cats. And sometimes not so good.

Not all cruising cat speeds are the same. For example, My 33' CSK will regularly do about 1.5x the speed of the Lagoon 380 in my harbor. Sometimes 2x. (Motoring excluded)

Don't be fooled by sleek lines and space age looking cabins they don't make the catamarans any faster. A Wharram downwind in Heavy winds should make some good top speeds (for what it is). The '88 40' Catana that you posted will perform much better. It will also cost a good deal more. The Wharram should be able to carry a decent Payload. Remember, you need to be cautious with weight on ANY catamaran if you want to sail best.

Wharrams are good boats for the money and can take you far. You will have a lot more $ left over to cruise with...

[Finditsurfit]

thanks for the info I really like this style of boat do you think it will be ok into the wind, bc I will be comming up the west coast from the ditch

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha,
Wharram's are not noted for their "to weather" ability. If you are planning your passages try to have the prevailing winds on or aft your beam unless you plan to motor a lot. Most these boats were assembled by amateur builders so certainly check out the construction quality before buying.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[mikereed100]

Findit,
If you go to Multihull Sailing - Information and Members Forum and do a search you will find some comments on performance. Nothing like the 11 knot averages that JWD claims but more in line with what has been written here. Friends with Wharrams love the boats but do complain about windward ability. Personally I think they are great boats and wouldn't hesitate to cruise on one.
Mike

[Southern Star]

Go to Multihull Sailing - Information and Members Forum and join. There are a huge number of Wharram owners/builders and indeed, an entire section dedicated to the same. I am sure you'll find what you need to know.

Brad