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James Wharram 1953 and 2009

James Wharram (born May 15 1928 in Manchester), England is a pioneer in catamaran construction. 1953 he designed the first ocean going Catamaran, the TANGAROA (length 23'6"/ 8 m) which ment the beginning of Cruising (maritime) and Transatlantic crossing with a Catamaran.

An northern transatlantic passage on the RONGO (length 40'/ 12 m) followed in 1959, which he designed and constructed in Trinidad after RONGO was infected by worms. This was the first west to east transatlantic crossing with a catamaran. He shared these adventures with two women, Jutta and Ruth. The supplies consisted of 100 lbs of wheat, 100 lbs of oat, 70 lb block of pressed dates, soya beans, soya flour, lentils, peas, peanut butter, honey and cheese for the 8000 nm long journey. Jutta bore their son Hannes in Trinidad. In 1960 the four started a TV sponsored trip around the world, beeing interrupted by Jutta dying of an inborne illness. With Hanneke Boon he sailed around the world on the 63 foot SPIRIT OF GAIA from 1995 to 1998.

Wharrams are based on polynesian two-trunk boats and typically have an open deck. James Wharram combined boat building with studies of polynesian culture. Wharrams are unique in beeing intelligent boats with beams lashed to the hulls with ropes which absorb the shocks of the waves like elastic bands. Modern catamarans are rigid and put up with greater forces and strain in the waves. Wharrams are built with linen latches or belts, in true polynesian style.* The rig is usually a rigsail, which adds safety. No full size wharram has been know to have capsized. The cabins and deck space are multifunctional and at human scale. The motto is "Keep it simple!" and "Less is more!" using the little space in a multifunctional modular way. Also the little payload of plywood catamarans keeps it's sailors to the minimum. Usually plywood is used in combination with epoxy for the hull, and laminated beams.

Wharram is not just about selling plans but stands for a philosophy of "Sea People". As Wharrams are usually home built, Wharram owners (those that actually finish a build and sail off) are known to be determined and caring about their boats. Wharram plans are drawn in a way that anyone can build a reliable transatlantic catamaran. The plans are idiot proof, complete and use "cheap" materials as plywood and epoxy. Due to the safe contruction and professional plans they are much easier to immatriculate than amateure self drawn boats. Wharrams are inexpensive, seaworthy and easy to handle.

Pahi 63, Wharram self built catamaran

Tiki 26, Wharram self built catamaran at Usedom

Pahi 63, Self built catamaran

Memberships

• 1967 – today: British Marine Industries Federation (BMIF).
• 1968 – today: Polynesian Catamaran Association (PCA). Founder member.
• 1968 – 1975 Multihull Offshore Cruising and Racing Association (MOCRA). Founder committee member.
• 1968 – 1978 Little Ship Club.
• 1973 – today: Royal Yachting Association (RYA), private member.
• 1977 – 1991 Committee member of the RYA Cruising Committee
• 1992 – today: Andean Explorer’s Club. Honorary member.
• 1996 – today: Roskilde Vikingship Museum friends.
• 2000 – today: Cruising Association. Overseas member.
• 2005 – today: Association of Yachting Historians.
• 2009 – today: Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Links

• James Wharram Designs
• Multihull-maven offers specs and descriptions of all Wharram Designs
• Migration of the polynesians reenacted
• epoxy as construction material for boats
• Self build catamaran community
• Self build catamaran community
• Link to the British Marine Federation
• The Norwegian Maritime Museum 2010 Conference

Participation in Conferences

• History and Problems of Design of Modern Multihulls. 1977. Fifth Symposium on Developments of Interest to Yacht Architecture, HISWA, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• Cruising Multihulls, 1978, RYA Cruising Symposium.
• Multis are more Traditional than deep-Keel Yachts. 1980. Multihull Symposium, Plymouth, UK.
• Appropriate Technology in catamaran Design and construction.1988. European Multihull Symposium, Netherlands.
• An Analysis of Self-Built Catamarans in the overall Development of Cruising Catamarans. 1989. MOCRA International Symposium, Exeter, UK.
• The Gaia Project, 1990. Second Dolphin and Whale Conference, Australia.
• The Spirit of Gaia, 1992. Third Dolphin and Whale Conference, Hawaii.
• European Double Hulled Canoes and The Archaeology of Viking Ships, 1996. Waka Moana Symposium, Auckland, New Zealand.
• Yacht Building and Yacht Charter in Indonesia, 2001, ITS Small Craft and Design Conference, Surabaya, Indonesia.
• The Pacific Migrations by Canoe Form Craft, 2003, ISBSA10 Roskilde, Denmark.
• ‘Lapita Voyage - recreating the migration route of the proto Polynesians’, 2008, ‘Early Man and the Ocean’ Conference, Norwegisches Maritimes Museum & Kontiki Museum, Oslo.

Further Publications

• Ocean-going catamarans. 1962. Ciba Technical Notes 231, Cambridge, UK
• Tehini. October 1970, Yachting Monthly, UK. Seminal article on Design approach.
• The Stable Multihull. 1976. (Researched for 1st World Multihull Symposium, Toronto.)
• The Sailing Community. 1978, Wooden Boat, USA, Prize-winning proposal for ‘Waterborne International Communities’.
• Catamaran Stability – Figures, Facts and Fictions. 1991. Practical Boat Owner, UK. Also published in several other countries.
• Nomads of the Wind. October 1994. Practical Boat Owner, UK. Analysis of the sailing qualities of the Polynesian Double Canoe.
• Going Dutch: The Tiki Wing Sail Rig. 1998, Practical Boat Owner, UK. Also published in several other countries, incl. Australia, Holland and France.
• Lessons from the Stone Age Sailors, A Study of Canoe Form Craft in the Pacific and Indian Ocean.
• ‘Vikings go Home’, Nov. 2008. Classic Boat, UK. (Article about voyage of the 100ft Vikingship reconstruction ‘Seastallion’ from Dublin to Denmark).

Notes

Category:Yacht designers Category:People from Manchester Category:Living people Category:1928 births