The Dream Maker: James Wharram talks Sailing Catamarans - Ep 35 Luckyfish Part 1
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2024
- In June 2016 I had the great pleasure of meeting James Wharram and Hanneke Boon for the first time, at their home and design base in SW England. James needs no introduction, widely regarded as one of the fathers of the modern catamaran.
Quite simply, James has helped more sailors realise their dreams than any other designer. Period.
Tuya, Zaya and I had just completed an Atlantic crossing on Luckyfish and I had vowed to meet the designers of our remarkable boat. Together with my brother Andrew, we spent an enjoyable few hours discussing a wide range of topics.
In Part 1 we cover James' beginnings and end the interview touching on a rift that had always perplexed me.
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My father was a boat builder starting at 6 years old, and specialized in catamarans from his second boat at age 11 all the way through his career. Back in the 1940's and 50's, there was a naval architectural university on the big island of Hawaii, which specialized in the history of catamarans, and multi hulled Polynesian canoes and sailing ocean craft. There are also several books out on the subject. This school was well established, but may it be little known that they taught catamaran design from ancient times to present day racers and Hawaiian beach cats. I also have a suggestion for the early wharramm boats where his rudder pins kept failing. If you use the transom to hold the rudders on, it helps if you make your transom vertical or ever so slightly angled forward one or two degrees so that the water pressure doesn't try to rip the rudders off of the boat. This is similar to aerodynamics, as in the faster the plane goes, the more you can't have forward take. You start to need a little swept back rake.
What an awesome interview and story!
+Two of Pentacles great to hear, thank you
Gosh, I know who wears the trousers in the Wharam family, poor chap couldn't say anything without the Mrs. correcting him :-)
Not a difficult observation to make. What lies behind it though is of far greater interest in my view. This is real TV with a capital R and that is what, once, set youtube apart from mainstream media. You are watching an unfiltered, raw and intimate view into someones life. The superficial observations that would normally be edited out are left in. Don't be distracted by them - they are the common and mundane parts of life. Cheers, Stew
that's why I would never consider marrying an English woman.
@@colsmith7257 james was a polygamist and had a reputation for being a child abuser. Not a petty thing...
Captain Stew this is a great episode. Looking forward to next week. Thank You.
Thanks Lucky Fish Crew!
hehe Great cliff hanger Stew. Can't wait now!!!
ScubaTony Anschutz I hate Cliffhangers. LOL
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Great Video Luckyfish, thank you..
Indeed interesting stuff! 👍🏽
What a great experience that must have been. Thanks for sharing It.
Thanks for understanding the moment Andrew! Yes truly an honor to have an informal discussion with James and Hanneke. Cheers, Stew
What a fantastic life he had FAB Vlog 👍👏
Yes, truly a free spirit doing it his own way. Brilliant. Stew.
Great conversation, Stewart. It is good to get the perspective of James' long time in design work.
He couldn't design his way out of a wet paper bag. The real work is done by the women in the office. He designed the first pointy shoebox one, which the authorities , rightly as it turned out, tried to prevent him from leaving harbour with. Had the Caribbean been another 50 miles further away he and the 2 girls would have been lost at sea as it dropped to bits. The first "wharram style" cat of the form we all know was knocked up for him by Henry Wakelam and Alain Colas(IIRC) and became Rongo, with which he returned to the UK. As far as I've been able to ascertain, having assisted my father to build a Narai and helped on 3 other builds, there has never yet been as single set of plans of his sold with a design for a watertight hatch. The concept is great, by they don't have the eco credentials he claims (they only work if glued and coated with epoxy, all lashings synthetic fibres, modern sailcloth & now dyneema rigging of late) and his costings apply to builds taken place in the 60's. Unless the beam pockets (just mention that phrase at a Wharram gathering) were rebuilt on a 2 yearly cycle, they rotted to bits as fresh water gathered there while the boats were on the moorings, as no adequate design work was put into them. By all means build one if you must, but have a good look at the alterations carried out by successful owners to make sure you get a durable craft.
Terribly harsh and overly simplistic to take this view, however, clearly you speak from some experience. Wharrams have undergone a continual process of improvements through trial and error. The latest models are excellent. I think you meant Bernard Moitessier, not Alain Colas. Cheers, Stew
What a sharp man...
+krazytrinisteve yes. you can see it.
Left in limbo, but a good draw card for next week.
Can't she take the hint, let me finish now, then buts in again, isn't he's story not her's LOL.
Cheers
Yep, it was a pretty heated topic for sure, everyone was at alert level 9.... James was always going to hatch that egg.. don't fret for a minute, he does finish that story and how! Cheers, Stew
@@SailingLuckyfish i am glad to hear that he did. Would love to hear. Just realising you were cought in the eye of a mini storm
LOL
Good luck
Great interview, but Jesus! James should at some point tell the lady "I am sorry I keep talking while you interrupt."
More, please...!!
...beautiful dramatic pull into the next chapter, by the way. Well done,... grrrrrrrrrrrrr... :)
Aloha mate(s), and after coming off my Turkey-Day-Week food coma and inebriation, I'll get to carving some "sexy sexy lines" into the blocky model of me proa (using the Devonish/Cornish/Piratical possessive "me" for emphasis). Mahalo DUDES!! 🤙
Piratical 'me' ... yes, that's the only one! Arrrgh, lookin' forward to those new sexy proa lines!
When is Lucky fish going to grace NZ shores? I'd love to get a chance to meet her. Fair winds, Grant.
Ha. Bro I don't know the answer to that. Current planning puts us well north of there.... . I'm harboring a fear that if we rock up in the Bay Islands we might never leave. Cheers, Stew
Dick Newick had a similar epiphany. Great stuff.
Really? what happened there?
Here is a vignette that might help give some insight. ..
www.oldsaltblog.com/2013/08/dick-newick-revolutionary-multihull-designer/
The French are constantly seeking out his boats and buying them. Some have even had them built. It is rumored that Newick felt he was the incarnation of a Polynesian designer. His designs are timeless (In My Humble Opinion) and some have emulated his designs like Philippe Rivere and a few others.
Stewart does your brother sail? Mr wharram is a genius..
Not really. Andrew has sailed but not really a sailor. He is a painter. He and James really hit it off but I cut most of it out as the discussion was really wide ranging. Tried to edit just the stories from JW and Hanneke. I think you are correct. James is a genius, Ruth held it all together and Hanneke managed to get his ideas drawn on paper so they could be used by the rest of us. Its a remarkable story.
There at the end the story seems to point the finger at politics being the trouble.. imagine that. Doesn't surprise me.
Now hurry up with part 2, LOL!
Yes, what a surprise - well spotted, Part 2 in the pipeline...
Check out Wharram's "Free Magazine", the Sea People: pca.colegarner.com/sea.people.html
..and you can download them as well. Written Nov. 1983 to early-ish 2010. "Boatloads" of information and tales!
Aloha gangies!
Yes indeed, a remarkable collection from a remarkable period - thanks for returning me to those great stories again! Cheers, Stew
Cool video of James. He has quite a story. Here is a much more detailed interview.
thesailingpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/James-Hanneke.jpg
hehe, great interview by David over at the Sailing Podcast, thanks for sharing the link. I found the informal chat really appropriate in our situation and we had a really pleasant free ranging discussion, less interview, more discussion. Pleasure to share it with you, Stew
I just get a picture; no interview.
Brad Taylor I guess you have to mess around with the settings on your browser or MP3 player but there's definitely an interview there. Look up The sailing podcast on iTunes.
Does that woman know when not to speak....
" The Real Reason Was" and you cut him off! WTF
Ahhh, it wasn't that long ago your favorite TV series did that every week. Cool huh? Something to look forward to...
Interesting story, can't wait for Part 2! I found an interesting 30-page PDF (www.pugetsound.edu/files/resources/7908_Spring2011Correa.pdf) that was very enlightening on the entire history of PVS, US Senator John McCains' mistaken politics of funding for PVS, cultural/racial issues on Hokule'a first voy
Great information in that link - Thanks so much for posting it. Mr Sharp has a bit to answer for, hanging on to the old imperialist dogma, Age of Empire and all that and snobbing the "natives". Without him though, it seems unlikely the that wayfinding and other skills of the forebears would have been revived through the PVS. History can be strange like that! Cheers and thanks again, Stew
Hi Stweart. Read this www.amazon.co.uk/We-Navigators-Ancient-Landfinding-Pacific/dp/0824815823 by New Zealand's very own Dr David Lewis and this one too www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00223347208572214?journalCode=cjph20 originally written in 1971 by Dr Lewis. This was a bit before any Wharrams had made it to the Pacific, as far as I know.
Hi Ted, thanks for the links. Unfortunately the science paper is $42 (this paper should be freely available). I read his book in my 20's , must read it again as I gave my copy away. Thanks a ton, Stew
(cont'd) ages, how Mau and Nainoa Thompson got involved, local French/Tahitian political issues, etc. I'm sure that many more articles exist. My biggest takeaway from this one is: " ...successful voyaging depends upon respect, training, improvement and teamwork" ...So desperately needed in cultural/religious relations, business and politics the world over, at present...
Yes, still reading the article from the link you shared, thanks again. Polynesian wayfinding predates celestial navigation by centuries. Victors write the history while a few voices keep the record straight.
Finished the article Don. Loved it. Great insights, thank you, Stew
@@SailingLuckyfish victors write history...hmmm. sometimes history is written by the "literate" to set a agenda.
One would thing he’d perhaps pronounce the word ‘Tangaroa’ correctly.
It’s pronounced ‘tongue’ - ‘are’ - ‘raw’ (rolling the ‘r’) ‘are’.
Not ‘tang’ as in ‘tangy’
Wish that woman would stop answering all his questions and let him talk!!
A bit of misinformation mentioned in this clip I see, James is not the father of the first catamaran. The Polynesians are.
+Paul Tuara - I hear you but we do state "he is regarded as one of the fathers of the modern catamaran". James, along with Eric de Bischop, Woody Brown, Rudy Choy and others are included in this group of modern day pioneers. They have done a great service in helping revive, or at least introduce to the West, the qualities of the traditional Polynesian double canoe form. Cheers, Stew
Don't forget the Micronesian's.
The indigenous Fijians built the largest double hulled planked sailing vessels capable of carrying 200 warriors, it was primarily used as a transportation vessels for war in Fiji. They got the idea from the Samoans and made it bigger. Thanks to James wharram and co for introducing this design to the west. And for making dreams become reality.
Stu, you should help Mr. James Wharram redesign more of the plans for pre-cut kits in modern materials. With your geology background you could globally source machine-robot production to fit the pieces for a 38 footer in shipping containers. You have the international business background, science background, people-communication skills, and authentic enthusiasm for Wharram catamarans, necessary to make Wharram the equivalent of Catalina 22s in terms of volume.
Thank you for that glowing reference! At this stage I cannot do what you suggest and also continue the voyage of Luckyfish. Both projects are full time commitments if they are to be realised. Its tempting though! Many ppl have asked for a Tiki 38 kit. The T38 is the most popular cruising design it seems. I would love to help and have thought hard about it, discussed it too, but at this stage the videos are all I want to do. Not sure I am comfortable putting a potential commercial angle on our story either. That is so yesterday! Cheers and thanks so much again for your encouragement. Stew
UUBrahman '
What a lot of mumbling. If you, Stuart, understand what is being said, you need to add subtitles to make this interview of any value.
Hey sorry Paul. As there is 2+ hours work in doing the subs, I ran it by Patrons and they said it was fine, no complaints. But I do understand that it may be difficult to understand. Would love to have someone help with sub titles, Stew
Why did you kill the audio feed just when James Warham was revealing the true story. Shame on you.
My apology, just discovered you were caught in the eye of a mini storm