OUR PHILOSOPHY
Sailing vessels have been a part of our history almost from the very beginning of mankind. They helped early humans to migrate and reach far away places, spread across all the continents. Obviously it must have been done by a seaworthy watercraft, as for example, there has always been a very substantial gap to reach Australia. Gap that no other mammal managed to cross. Living on or by the sea is a part of our genetic make-up, and explains modern Man’s attraction to the sea, swimming, sailing and all water related activities.
Our Tiki 38 – Panarai, is a boat to fulfill this subconscious need, with a lifestyle of simplicity at it’s basis, that allows people to get in touch with the archaic Sea Nomad in their subconsciousness. With the boat design that kept a strict discipline of simplicity and low cost, but still used some modern approach by incorporating fibreglass, epoxy and plywood, the best of both worlds were met. The outcome is a boat that meets and exceeds the needs of a traditional and elegant, but fast, safe and stable, seagoing catamaran.
Here are some key features that set our boat apart from modern, production catamarans. Traditional hull proportions, with low freeboard, never higher than 13%. This keeps windage to the minimum, requiring minimum driving force (sail area and engine power).
Slim hulls of around 12:1 or slimmer to reduce wave drag, to achieve speed without the need for excessive rigs.
High stability, achieved through low rig proportions (two short masts), so the boat will always look after the crew, not the other way around.
Flexible hull joining, allowing the boat to flow over the seas, reducing stresses on the structure and increasing durability.
To achieve maximum stability and still high speeds the boat is equipped with a low aspect ratio rig. Its two-masted configuration is keeping the centre of effort low. This rig combines efficient aerodynamics with great simplicity and moderate cost due to the minimum use of expensive hardware.
Present day multihulls are strongly influenced by modern styling, following the same trends as car and luxury hotel design. They are often based on previous generation multihulls with new styling and popular modern features added, without ever going back to basic design principles.
Hence we see higher and higher freeboards to accommodate all the urban luxury needs of modern Man, as well as higher and higher rigs to achieve the urge to go faster than others in this competitive world. Higher freeboards mean higher windage and hence a need for larger rigs and larger engines, leading to higher weight, leading to fatter hulls, leading again to larger engines, rigs etc. etc.
It should always be remembered that multihulls are FORM-STABLE vessels with a very long history. The design of Panarai, our Tiki 38, has taken inspiration from the fantastic ancient boats of the Pacific that made long ocean voyages before any other type of vessel. This is a heritage we must be proud of and not abuse it, by forcing it to conform to our luxury, urban, competitive Western demands.