Hull # 2 is being built by Betrand Fercott in France.
Tiki 46 N°2 “Harmoniae” built in France (Brittany)
by Bertrand and Marie-Hélène FERCOT
Why we have choose to build a Tiki46 :
I discovered the pleasures of sailing when I was 14 and since I dream to live at full time on the sea.
My first sailing where aboard dinghies : a plywood “Vaurien” and after a “4.70”. My first cruising boat was an old little old gaff of 8 m I owned with one of my brother.
In the sailing club near my parent’s home I met my wife Marie-Hélène and a few months after our marriage in 1974 we built (too much quickly) a mono-hull in plywood of 10m. When we launched her the inside paints where not finished and when we sold she 10 years later she was not yet finished! Our first children begun to sail with us at one month old during our holidays and we had a lot of adventures in sailing around the Brittany in France. We had, during a short time, owned an old sloop in GRP of 8 m but she was too narrow for our increased family and we sold her, hopping to find a second hand catamaran.
We were decided to have a catamaran and we dreamed in front of a lot of design’s books and we bought plans we never built, except one Hitia14. In this different plans was the plan of the Pahi 42, but at this time Marie-Hélène was afraid to have a part of the children living alone in one hull. I bought some wood and plywood but we never began to build the Pahi42 and the plans have been sold.
After almost 5 years without sailing cruises and a lot of changes in our family who has grown up more than I have expected : 5 children from our marriage + 2 black children, we bought and old power work-boat of 15m who where on the land!!!!! I passed my power boat license and worked very hard in caulking, painting, checking all the parts of the engine etc.. The next Spring the boat has been launched and during the Summer we put our Hitia14, a little dinghy “Optimist” and a plywood tender on her big deck in order to anchor between little islands of north Brittany. As I can’t imagine to cruise without sails, I changed this old power workboat in putting a ketch old gaff rig with a total of 8 sails. So now I have a good experience of the old gaff rig and the children were very happy to climb in the sails.
In the same time as the old farm where we lived was not enough roomy, with the help of all the family we built on a land of wood and moor we owned one kilometer away, a spherical wood house.
During this time I continued to search the most appropriated boat for us and so the best rig. After reading and looking at different magazines I became very fascinated with the junk rigs. Twice we joined junk rig rallies and we had so the opportunity to sail and to appreciate the simplicity and the easiness to handle a such rig. We tried junk rig sailing only on board mono-hull, but in an old newsletter of the Junk Rig Association there was an article with pictures of a cat with one free mast on each hull with junk rig.
Due to the size of our family we wanted a cat with a minimum of 40’ and our main problem was how to transport she until the sea. It’s why we came back towards the Wharram designs in spite of we were not agree with all their ideas.
We put adverts to sale our big sail boat and in
waiting to have a customer, we built a good shelter on our land in order to
build our next boat in recovering an old shelter in a farm and some trees from
our land. At the end of 1997 we sold or big boat with a little price and in
order to keep the contact with the sea during the building of our next boat we
bought a little used plywood demountable cat of 7m with a dory hull shape.
In August 1998 with our 3 youngest children we drove to the Scotland Polynesian Association meeting on the isle of SKY. We had a stop at Devoran where we met James & Ruth Wharram and Haneke. We were very welcomed and after a few time to look at the plans, pictures and models we bought the plans of the Tiki46. At this time, as the plans were not yet completed, we took with us only the booklet which explain and complete the plans.
We had one another stop near Bristol to visit Ann and Nev Clement who were building the first Tiki46 in a farm : the 2 bottom hulls were almost finished and the pod so. Since we visited them 2 or 3 times and we thanks them for their explanations and encouragements.
We enjoyed the SKY meeting and on our return way we had a stop to see Robin Blain of Sunbird Marine Service to study the possibility to have a junk rig on each hull of our Tiki46. For me it’s logical to put a free and flexible rig which can absorb the energy of the gusts without stressing the hulls, all the more the hulls have flexible connexions.
After our return we continued to work on the
building of the shelter. During the spring 1999 I painted all the inside of the
shelter in white to have a pleasant place to work. At this time we had the visit
of James and Hanneke who were driven back from GAIA to their home. We didn’t yet
start the building of our Tiki46 but I’ve made one model.
Boat’s building:
During the Summer I prepared all the bottom
bulkheads, with the children we built a Melanesia and in August we drove with
our Hitia14 on the roof + the Tiki46’model to the PCA meeting in Millbrook (UK).
It was a wonderful time, all the cats were anchored in half circle during the
solar eclipse. Before to drive back we visited Anne and Neville.
After to have read different books and in particular “Home is Where the Boat is” I’ve been convinced to have one good inboard engine in each hull. It’s a safe choice for a such size of boat. The maneuverability, efficiency, durability and fuel’s consumption is better than with two outboards engines. One of my friends, after to have killed three times 2 outboards, he put 2 inboards and he regrets now to didn’t have taken this decision at first.
For that, when making the keels on the ground, I inserted an epoxy tube for the propeller’s shaft before the skeg. So the efficiency of the maneuverability will be improve with the flow of the propeller against the rudders and due to the big distance between the 2 propellers ( 5,45m instead 2m between the 2 outboards as designing on the plans).
To day I don’t yet take a decision to choose the
type of engines and since 2 years I’m more and more attracted by the electric
engines with regeneration under sail to be more independent in using a minimum
of fossil fuel. I’m not hurry to take a decision because today we can find more
and more of this systems and I hope the prices will be down.
As during all the previous years we studied different building boat projects, we have already bought some wood and especially a lot of plywood at low price with the plans of the aborted building project of a 46’(mono-hull) catamaran.
In my wood’s store I had wood veneer, so after to
ask the advice of James, I decided to make the bottom with the cold moulded
method : one layer of 5mm + 3 layers of 3mm. For that I added a stinger at the
knuckle and short stringers on the front and back of the hull between the
stringers where the distance is too big. In fact this method is applied on the
Islander building with less layers but with thicker strips of wood. Before to
cut the bulkheads, I increased slightly the curve of the hulls. We began to glue
the first strips of veneer in June 2000 to finish the 2 bottom hulls in October
after glassing and painting. In July we had the visit of James and Hanneke who
participated to the maritime sea meeting of Douarnenez with their “Tahiti
Wayfarer” behind their car. In fact it’s a very hard work, I do it only to use
my strips of veneer. To build quicker, it’s better to use plywood. Before
to paint and to turn the bottom hulls, to strengthen the keels I glued (without
screws) a 45x45mm hard wood stringer on the keels + glass cloth. On this piece
of wood I screwed a stainless steel strip of 5mm thick
In October 2000 we turned easily the two bottom
hulls and during the winter I prepared all the stringers which support the
panels of the upper hulls. Due too the low temperature, we glued the scarfs in
our house. At this time for professional reasons I had to change of job’s place,
and as I had an opportunity to have a new job in Martinique (West Indies) I
hesitated a little due to the building of our Tiki46 under progress. But as she
was under a good shelter and it was more and more hard for me to continue my job
here, I decided to go and in March 2001 I flew to the Martinique. My wife and
children stayed in Brittany until August. I flew back between mid July and mid
August during my holydays and we glued the stringers and prepared the hull sides
panels.
In Martinique we bought an old Etap28, and as she was too little to sail with our three teenagers, after a few months we sold it and decided to build quickly a Tiki30 to experiment a twin free masts on each hull. The building of our Tiki30 started in January 2002 and in fact we need 3 years to build she.
During the 5 weeks of my Summer 2002 holydays, I cut pieces of foam in sheets of 100mm thick to adjust them in the bows and sterns for buoyancy. After we glued al the upper panel’s hulls.
During my Summer 2003 holidays I made all the beam trough + the reinforcement in the hulls to support the beams and we put a layer o 80cm wide glass cloth around the upper hull sides just above the bottom hull.
During the Summer 2004 I had extra holidays : Julys + August so I’ve been able to put the decks over the sterns and bows, to cut and glue the cabin sides .
At this stage I decided to increase the height of the hulls between bulkheads 4 and 7 of 300mm (one foot) in order to have a better ventilation with opening portholes in front and back , to have a view all around with more light from the longitudinal windows which are too narrow on the standard plan and are hidden with the shelves. The advantage is so to have more volume for the cargo under the floor.
I want to have a good flexibility in the accommodations with the maximum of accessibility and simplicity. So in the center of the hull it will be possible to adjust the height of the floor at different levels according the cargo and to have so removable panels to change easily the desk in a large double berth.
During this Summer I had the pleasure to sail on board the Tiki28 “Tigaki” around the Brittany to join the Brest 2004 marine festivities. She’s a good cat and I was surprised to discovered the Tiki28 has no beams, the hulls are bolted directly to the central cabin and cockpit!
Our Tiki30 “PHA” was launched the 15th December 2004 and since the first try, we were very enthusiast with our rig : she tacks easily without refusal and is easy to handle. We sailed all the weekends and had one cruise to the Dominica, Les Saintes, Marie-Galantes and return via the Atlantic and one another cruise to the Grenadines.
As I wanted to finish our Tiki46 if possible before to be retired and because 2 of our teenagers continued their studies in France, I asked to have again one another job in Brittany.
Three days after to know I’ll got a new job, with my wife we left the Martinique the 3rd June in the evening and reached Morgat in Brittany the 3rd July at the sunset in 29 days. It was a wonderful cruise, and in fact our first transatlantic crossing. And now we are more motivated to finish our Tiki46 according all the experiences of building and sailing PHA.
After I flew back in Martinique to finish my time until mid October. So in 2005 there was no progresses for our Tiki46.
Our problem in Brittany is the temperature which is enough warm to work well with epoxy (above 15°C) only during 4 or 5 month each year.
In 2006 we made the floor of the toilette cabin with an integrated shower floor. We’ve chosen to have only one entrance for each hull to have an easier access in all the parts of each hull, especially under bad weather. The entrance of each hull is between the bulkheads 6 & 7. In this area there is, under the ladder, an emergency hatch which will be so very useful for the ventilation of the hulls when anchoring and to put things from the tender inside the hulls.
Along Bulkhead 7 will be a wet locker and almost the half of this wet area entrance will be occupied with a little toilet room with a loo, a washbasin and a shower with enough height to stand up.
We finished all the inside fillets which join the bottom of the cabin sides with the hull sides + glass cloth and our main work was to do the beams. In fact it’s a very long job. The 4 main beams are now on the hulls with glass cloth all around them and not only on the tops and without yet paint because there will be pieces of fixations to glue on them. As we don’t have masts on the center, we don’t need the 5th beam and so not all the heavy reinforcement to hold the masts between the beams.
Happily for us, but sadly for the progress of the building, we had a cruise in June 2006on board PHA to Falmouth where we met the Wharram’s family, to Plymouth to join the Junk Rig Association Rally and a return via the Scilly + a cruise in Jully to Les Glenans in south Brittany for a PCA meeting
Until the next warm days I want to adjust the
beams with the hull + fixation, to finish if possible the accommodations in
warming the inside of the hull if necessary , to prepare the parts of the roofs
which will be put only after to have finish the accommodations and to paint
inside . I have so to finalize the design of the central cabin which will be
put between the beams of bhd 4 and 7. On board PHA we appreciate this
configuration and on the Tiki46 this room will be the center of the common life
with from the front : a big saloon which can be used to sleep with 2 separated
berth or with a large double berth; after a kitchen on one side and a
navigation desk + a wet locker on the other side. This cabin will have almost
the same look as on PHA but longer.
About the modifications :
One of the first advantage to build by yourself a such boat is to customize your boat according your own requirements. I bought a stock plan which was designed on the request of our friends Anne and Nev which are in fact at the origin of the Tiki46. After to have got the plans, I studied them with attention to increase (according my own feeling) her drive ability under power and under sail and to adapt the accommodations according our own life way.
All the modifications has been made without to alter the nominal sizes of the boat and without in reducing her strength . I asked James Wharram to make the bottom hull with the cold moulded veneer instead of plywood. For my new rig I ask to Boswell design who is a professional designer having a good experience with the Junk rig and to R. Blain of Sunbird Marine who is the designer of the Swing Wing rig concept.
For the general layout of the boat, to preserve the privacy of each one, we like to have 3 independent places of life. In each hull are from front : a big double berth cabin which can be converted in workshop, in the middle a big desk cabin which can be converted in a large double berth or in a big hold for cargo, after the wet place (with the toilette, wet locker, and the normal and emergency hatches), at last in the back is so a big double berth cabin. The 2 hulls have exactly the same layout.
The cabin deck is the life’s center of the boat,
with a good visibility all around the boat. Behind will be the cockpit from
where it will be possible to handle easily the boat without to go on the deck.
Between the 2 first beams will be a front cockpit.
The next big works are : to build the central
cabin and the 2 masts which will be bi conic hollow wood masts as on our Tiki30
PHA.
The building of a Tiki46 requests a lot of time,
patience and money. So it’s necessary to have a big motivation to enlist in a
such adventure.
Look at the pictures
for a better understanding.
Bertrand & Marie-Hélène