Following a somewhat disappointing interaction with the owner of a pod-less Tiki 30 who wanted to group his visits around only a few days, it downed on me that many owners built pods for their pod-less Tikis, and that none reported regretting it. After some reading in the net (the Wharram Builders and Friends forum seems to be the best source for this kind of stuff) I decided that a Tiki 30 with a pod might be the right boat for me, so planned a 4-day visit to Lisbon to view that one.
Rui, the current owner of Tetis, was extremely kind throughout the visit: he picked me up at the airport and introduced me to his family, he picked & dropped me at my hotel every day, and I had lunch at his place with him and his wife Abilly, who by the way is an excellent cook.
Turns out Tetis is his 4th large boat: over the years he's also built and sailed a Pahi 42, a Tane, and a boat of his own design in the lines of a Hinemoa. Must know something about plywood and epoxy, by now...
After looking around and considerable meditation, plus some exchanges with Ingrid, who had stayed in Barcelona, we decided to move on with the purchase. Not sure I gave Ingrid all the weight she should have carried in the decision: she would have preferred a Tiki 38, but in my opinion that would be too much of a boat for a 1st-time boat buyer and maintainer.
Here's the video I created to describe the boat to her. It's really badly produced, but it still gave her some understanding of how the boat is organised:
It is also important to understand that it is a very small boat, with no standing headroom in the cabins. Here's me in the position of stirring a pot in the galley:
Rui, the current owner of Tetis, was extremely kind throughout the visit: he picked me up at the airport and introduced me to his family, he picked & dropped me at my hotel every day, and I had lunch at his place with him and his wife Abilly, who by the way is an excellent cook.
Turns out Tetis is his 4th large boat: over the years he's also built and sailed a Pahi 42, a Tane, and a boat of his own design in the lines of a Hinemoa. Must know something about plywood and epoxy, by now...
After looking around and considerable meditation, plus some exchanges with Ingrid, who had stayed in Barcelona, we decided to move on with the purchase. Not sure I gave Ingrid all the weight she should have carried in the decision: she would have preferred a Tiki 38, but in my opinion that would be too much of a boat for a 1st-time boat buyer and maintainer.
Here's the video I created to describe the boat to her. It's really badly produced, but it still gave her some understanding of how the boat is organised:
It is also important to understand that it is a very small boat, with no standing headroom in the cabins. Here's me in the position of stirring a pot in the galley:
More photos I took during the visit (click on one for a larger view):
Tetis is kept grounded at a tidal beach
Looks built 100% as per plans
A rudder lashing -- also as per plans.
Slatted deck beside the pod. The ones in front are built in the same way.
The hatches look well-built and show no signs of past water ingress
From the stern you can see it's actually a lot of boat.
The latest boat Rui has built. He used UV-protected epoxy for the wooden deck. It looks beautiful.
Checking the engine
We mounted the boarding ladder for Ingrid to see, as it is an important element for her
Rui warned me there is an area in the port bow which needs repair. The wood sounds good: needs sanding, re-glassing, and painting.
Some pics of the masthead with zoom maxed out for remote inspection of the rigging
For the record: paint used on the hull
Some random notes taken during the visit:
The inventory we built, and over which we based our sale agreement (in Spanish, as Rui can read it but can't read English):
And a list of tasks to be done before delivery:
- The portlights are in policarbonate -- which is UV-resistant.
- But the domes on the main hatches are acrilic, which is not, so they should stay covered when not needed.
- Sealing of portlights and domes (and anything else which needs it) is Sylkaflex.
- Battery charging is done by the Air X windmill. There's a switch to choose which battery to charge (1, 2, or both).
- The boat passed construction and periodic inspections from the Portuguese authorities (although it is due for a new one). So all installations (electrical, gas) have been check to abide by EU safety regulations.
- Rui reported the boat was built using Tola, Mogno, autoclave-treated pine, Cryptomeria for the deck sandwich, dark Kambala (which incidentally doesn't work well with epoxy) for the beam locator blocks.
- The single layer of glass on the beams cracked as the wood worked. It was replaced using more layers glued with isophthalic poliester resin, which is more flexible than epoxy.
- Fresh water is kept in two 20 L portable tanks below the kitchen & head sink, and delivered by 10€ camping waterpumps. It should be easy to do a similar thing with larger tanks, possibly under the bunks.
- Gasoline is kept in a 25 L portable tank tied on the stern gangway.
- The dinghy measures 240 x 115 x 35 cm. It is easy to stow over one of the slatted decks at the bow, leaning against the front beam. It may be also possible to stow it at the stern, which would allow using the steel arc for lifting. Some trials are necessary.
The inventory we built, and over which we based our sale agreement (in Spanish, as Rui can read it but can't read English):
| Motor mercury 30 HP 2 tiempos de cola larga con arranque eléctrico |
| Bidón de gasolina 25L portátil |
| Vela mayor "Tiki wingsail" |
| Génova enrollable |
| Enrollador de génova |
| Drizas, escotas, y cabos de amarre |
| Radio VHF-DSC |
| Anemómetro y veleta electrónicos |
| Corredera y sonda electrónicas |
| Radar |
| Generador eólico de 400W |
| Arco de popa de acero inoxidable |
| Escalera de abordaje |
| Bomba de achique eléctrica sin instalación fija |
| Bomba de achique manual móvil |
| Balsa salvavidas para navegación costera |
| 2 aros salvavidas homologados |
| 8 chalecos salvavidas homologados |
| Ancla CQR de 12 Kg |
| Ancla Danforth |
| Ancla almirantazgo |
| 40 m de cadena de acero galvanizado de 8mm |
| Cocina de dos fogones |
| Fregadero con depósito de agua portátil y bomba eléctrica |
| WC marítimo |
| Lavamanos con depósito de agua portátil y bomba eléctrica |
| Embarcación auxiliar rígida |
| 2 remos |
| Planos de construcción del barco, la cabina central, y el piloto automático |
| Documentación de la construcción |
| Manuales de uso y mantenimiento del motor y equipos electrónicos |
And a list of tasks to be done before delivery:
| Reparar el mascarón de proa de babor |
| Matar las avispas y quitar el nido de la viga |
| Reparar la fibra despegada de la cabina delantera de babor |
| Reparar e instalar el aerogenerador |
| Lijar y pintar la verga |
| Lijar y pintar las cañas y travesaño del timón |
| Lijar y repintar pasamanos |
| Lijar y repintar bloques de sujeción del piloto automático |
| Lijar y repintar tablilla de protección tras el piano |
| Aplicar aceite a los estrados |
| Aplicar epoxy con protección UV a la escalera |
0 comments:
Post a Comment