It’s Tiki 38 No 130 and she’s being built in Geneva, Switzerland by Olivier Roux. If memory serves Daniel Ganz built ‘Marabu’ in Switzerland  as well. Two Tiki 38′s from a completely land-locked country, fantastic!

Olivier has started by building the engine boxes ‘to save time later’. Now that’s the kind of thinking I envy. I’m just too linear when it comes to following plans and instructions, seems I need to do things in the order they come up. He’s just finished these engine mounts and if the rest of the boat matches the high standards he’s achieved with them she’s going to be beautiful.

All credit to Olivier for getting started and my thanks to him for e-mailing me to say that he’d been following my blog for a while and that in some way I’d contributed to him starting his own build. I can’t take any credit for that but it’s a nice thought.

I’ve put a permanent link to his blog down in the ‘Wharram Builders’ links section but here’s a DIRECT LINK  for those that want to go see now.

The boat is to be called ‘Mon Tiki’ and is being built by David Ryan who is owner of a charter sailing company in Montauk. What’s really interesting is that ‘Mon Tiki’ is being built to a very high spec and when completed, she’ll  have a USCG certificate of inspection (COI) for 24 passengers and will, according to Davids website be the only Coast Guard certified sailing vessel operating on Long Island. I’d go further and suggest anywhere in the world!

I know that ‘Natural High’ Warren Matthew’s Tiki 38 has been built to a very high offshore spec with escape hatches etc. but I don’t know how the certification compares.

Now whilst there’s no way that ‘Gleda’ can be built to such exacting standards it will be fascinating to see what design modifications are needed and how the boat will set up to accommodate 24 passengers. Thinking ahead I had already given some thought to the fact that with lots of deck space, easy access in and out of the water and great stability a Tiki 38 would be great as a dive platform, whale watching boat etc. etc. and there would surely be opportunities for such activities in areas of the world far less regulated than Europe and the U.S. I’ll be watching this build closely for ideas I might be able to use.

 I’ll be contacting David to see if I can get some inside information to pass on here but you can follow the project via their website HERE.

On the subject of other Tiki 38′s thanks to everyone who’s taken a few minutes to add or update their entries in the Tiki 38 register I revived the other week. Please pass the word and lets see how many we can track down there are a lot of sail numbers missing. Here’s the link to the form

I’m checking the register weekly to keep things in order, I’m pretty sure it’s all working OK but drop me an e-mail if you have any problems or questions

Wouldn’t it be great to find out more about the other Tiki 38′s out there?

The form below auto-updates the full Google Docs Spreadsheet which can be viewed HERE. By the way I’ve hidden the e-mail column on the publicly viewable spreadsheet so as to avoid any privacy/spam issues. Of course I’ll happily facilitate communication between consenting parties.

Any queries, comments or amendments that don’t fit with the form, please drop me an e-mail

She was built to the highest standards (as can be seen from this photo of the galley) and was launched in June 2010. She’s fully equipped for extended cruising and as I understand it the sale price wouldn’t even cover the price of the materials and equipment that went into this fantastic vessel.

Martin was the guy who organised the bulk purchase and shipping of the marine grade aluminium for the masts of  ’Al Raso’ Jacques Pierret’s ‘Pilgrim’ , Daniel Ganz’s ‘Marabu’ and my own ‘Gleda’. Sadly I’m the only one who still has these mast packed in the crate they arrived in but given that both ‘Pilgrim’ and ‘Marabu’ have now crossed the Atlantic and, as stated above ‘Al Raso’ cruised more than 6000Nm at least I can be confident they’ll do the job! Point is Martin went to huge trouble to research. source and negotiate price on the right material for the job so I know he will have done the same for every other component of the boat.

Martin can be contacted directly at sv.alraso@gmail.com but if you’re interested don’t hesitate, ‘Al Raso’ is currently lying in the NE area of U.S.A. and I’ve no doubt she’s going to sell quickly.

I confess to a twinge of sadness that Martin has decided to sell but having followed his story I know he’s made the right decision for himself and his family. ‘Al Raso’ has taken them on a journey they’ll never forget and I’m sure she’ll do the same for her new owner.

Actually this one is quite old in that it dates back to January of this year but Warren has only just put it up on YouTube

It’s his brand new Wharram Tiki 38 ‘Natural High’ on a test sail out of his home port of Christchurch New Zealand. Short but very sweet.

I haven’t seen the sea since January 2nd and the dream of launching and sailing ‘Gleda’ seems as far away as ever.

My spirits have been lifted however by the fantastic news that Jacques Pierret, and his crew Christophe, Gilles, Alexis and Sune, have safely arrived in his home port of L’Estaque, Marseille after a 4,500 nm, 31 day crossing of the Atlantic from Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.

It took Jacques 5 years to build ‘Pilgrim’ and I can only imagine his feelings now that he has completed this voyage. He is a shining beacon for those of us that are attempting to emulate his success and I wish he and ‘Pilgrim’ many happy years of sailing adventures.

You can watch a brilliantly edited video of the voyage on YouTube HERE

There’s no one I like reading more than Beat Rettenmund on the crab claw rigged Tiki 38 ‘Aluna’. They are currently in the middle of the Pacific visiting the vast atoll of Tongareva, which as Beat points out literally translates to South Floating in Space. He describes it thus “It is a single skinny strip of coconut palm peopled coral rubble, maybe 300 meters wide at its most, at other places reduced to rust red and olive green reef rock, which is awash at high tide. This strip threads on and on for 44 kilometers………”

The following is an extract from the most recent post on his blog

“Six days later one midmorning the tips of a thin strip of palm trees became visible on the horizon. We were just eight miles from Caroline Island, or Millennium Island, as some pranky politicians decided to call it. Flocks of birds soon streamed towards us, very healthy looking brown and white boobies, black frigate birds, smaller, stubby black and white fluttering creatures too. As soon as Aluna rounded the heavily breaking surf off the Northern tip we entered the calm waters of the leeward side. A more than 100 meters wide ledge of ochre tidal flats extended seawards from the blinding white of the coral beaches, which in turn inland became green curtains of coconut and pandanus trees. A symphony of bird cries came floating towards us from there and every now and then a break between the islets allowed a peak through to the turquoise lagoon inside…..”

READ IT ALL HERE

Now how’s that for inspirational writing made to warm the cockles of a frustrated boatbuilder fed up of the long cold UK winter!

Thanks Beat, keep them coming!

Its been all go elsewhere in the Tiki 38 world over the past few weeks. Martin Hivon now has ‘Al Raso’ on the water and there are some great photos on his website, also, in the past couple of days, Jacques Pierret has launched ‘Pilgrim’. His son Alexis shot a fantastic video of the whole event and I’ve embedded it below for those that haven’t seen it. I confess to having a lump in my throat watching it, Jacques has worked for 5 years with a small budget to get ‘Pilgrim’ built and I feel a close affinity with him. Equally Martin has worked hard to finish ‘Al Raso’ not least as he had to finish one hull completely before clearing the shed and starting on the second! I can’t imagine that. These guys have set a fine example of what is possible and I’m proud to follow in their footsteps. Another notable event is the departure of ‘Aluna’ from Hawaii bound for the Polynesian Islands, fair winds to Beat and Beatrix. Look out for news of the voyage on the Aluna Blog

The Pilgrim from Alexis Pierret on Vimeo.