The Boat – S.V Tika- Outremer 55 (2008)

 

Technical Specifications

• Hull #21, Outremer 55 Standard (owners version)
• Length: 16.3m (55′)
• Beam: 7.8m (25′)
• Draft 0.8m (boards up), 2.2m (boards down)
• Mast height: 20m (66′)
• Sail Area
  • Main: 80 sq m
  • Jib: 40 sq m
  • Code 0: 120 sq m
  • Screecher 70 sq m
• Engines: 2 x 54hp yanmar
• Diesel: 2 x 220L
• Water: 2 x 220L
• Solar: 1300W
• Watermaker: 24v Dessalator 100L/ hr (can be run off solar panels)
• Wind: 2 x 400W Silent Wind 24V
• Dinghy: Gig Harbour Maine Lobster Boat (customised to be 14’3″ to fit between our hulls)
• Batteries: 700 Ah @ 24V of golf cart batteries (US Battery 2200’s)

The story

Tika is an Outremer 55 catamaran.  She is a remarkable boat for her combination of high average cruising speed, low draft and family comfort – who knew the three co-existed?.

The fact that we ended up her was also the result of blind luck.  We knew next to nothing about catamarans when we had our offer accepted.  Many cruisers spend years sifting through yachtworld.com, sea-trialing and surveying until it is clear that their “perfect yacht” (otherwise known as a set of compromises) has presented herself.

That was not us.  Russ spent almost 2 decades convincing Greer that catamarans were unsafe, overpriced and over-hyped (speed-wise).  Then after a conversation with a broker all these concerns were overturned in favour of a less risky resale market.

Within 2 weeks, Tika presented herself in Panama and Russ was on a plane to help bring her back to the Carribean side of Panama for a haul-out and survey in Shelter Bay Marina.  The Outremer 55 ticked two simplistic criteria in Russ’s mind:  Centreboards and running backstays (an extra line onto the mast to prevent the mast from “pumping”).

We ended up with a boat that has exceeded our expectations in nearly every way.  She is self sufficient at anchor for power – enabling us to hang at stunning anchorages making water, doing washing (yes we have a washing machine onboard!) cooking and doing school without burning any diesel at all.  She is light and bright down below, thanks to the large hatches and side portholes.  She funnels wind straight in from the front through 2 large forward facing hatches in the saloon, meaning even in the tropics we have not really felt we ever needed the air conditioning systems often fitted to modern boats.  In colder weather the cockpit is well protected from wind and there is complete protection in the saloon with very good visibility in all directions for watch keeping.

And to sail – she is pure joy.  Fast and controllable, we have never yet been forced to hand steer because she felt out of control.  Surfing the family home is a family sport with Kai often reading off the speed as you watch the bows throw spray high into the air while she happily accelerates to 18 and 19 knots.

On passage, we budget on 200 miles a day, in anything over 12 knots and use our speed to make the weather work for us.  In fact 10-14 knots of wind are our favourite conditions, as it usually means the sea state is very settled and downwind we almost pace the waves meaning the family home barely moves around for boat school and the daily card game of  500.

The Design Features we love (that we don’t often see)

• Mid-topside rub rail.  That aluminium rub rail that runs down the middle of each hull is useful for so many things; catching spinnaker sheets, stopping pegs from falling overboard, but most importantly it allows us to rub up against jetties and wharfs without leaving ugly marks.  It also allows the boat to have side opening port holes all down each hull – which makes a world of difference to the feeling of space and ventilation in the hulls.  Modern designs seem to like the sleek look of sheer slab sided hulls.  The functionality of that mid way rub rail is brilliant – and also better for windage.
• Low windage design.  We still haven’t seen a cruising cat that has a slippery saloon shape like the older Outremer design.  Monohulls – the resistance is under the water.  Multihulls – the resistance is all about windage – why the new “condo cats” don’t design for windage beats me.
• Long, narrow hulls.  Tika has taught us a lot about design.  Like the principles don’t change……ever.  Long and thin (like an efficient canoe) is the most efficient displacement hull.  You can never beat it.  Keep the sterns narrow and low volume, too, and you also get steering control at speed.
• Bluff bows even with a super tight entry angle.  A good thick bow so you can lean against them as you try and get the boat off a jetty when 20 knots is pushing you on is so important on a cruising boat.  Doesn’t look as good as the knife bows on a gun boat, but oh so practical (with negligible efficiency loss).
• Shaft drives with a skeg in front of rudders and props.  She will dry out, resting on her skegs, but that is not their most important job.  When we hit something up the east coast of NZ, we felt a collective surge of gratitude that we had shafts driving our propellers, not sail drives.  The holes in the boat under waterline are just that much smaller than the alternatives!
• Solid fibreglass with vinylester until waterline, foam sandwich above waterline.  Makes for a good combination of strength and low weight.
• 4 separate watertight compartments in each hull.  The first 4 feet of bow is all crash bulkhead.
• Good separation of living/ mechanical/ sailing systems.  The front sailing locker is cavernous and the engine rooms are spacious and, for a yacht, easy to access.

The layout

Above; Tika’s signage was applied in marine grade vinyl (and sealed) in New Zealand in 2017 and still looks brand new. Artwork was custom designed by Greer (an artist and sign writer) and computerized designs and PMS colours are available.

Tika’s starboard hull;

Above left; shot taken just down the stairs from the saloon looking forward- storage shelves on the right, store on the left and laundry and bathroom forward.

Above right; from the stairs looking aft; main cabin.

Above left and below; Main cabin (starboard side)

Above right; Looking forward down the starboard hull.

Above left; mattress and supports removed to show under bunk storage.

Right; these futon style supports add comfort to the firm mattresses that were custom made in N.Z in 2017

Above; showing one of the three under bed stowage compartments of the main cabin. There is also a wardrobe, a large drawer and an easily accessible, deep cupboard opening under the bed.

Above left and middle; the store; freezer, dry foods, medical supplies and some hanging hooks for jackets/ foul weather gear.

Above right; looking forward to the laundry and bathroom

Below; looking forward, the laundry and starboard bathroom and shower

Above left; washing machine was new in 2016

Above right; starboard bathroom in the starboard bow. A spacious, separate shower stall, and plenty of easy to clean shelf storage.

Tika’s Port Hull

Below; fore-peak bunk and it’s many configurations. Shown below; two single bunks.

Below left; double bed under and single above

Middle; storage shelf under, single bunk above

Right; double bed under storage shelf above.

In our 3 years of cruising, our daughter Jaiya would regularly change her cabin configuration. If she had a friend stay over, she would go to two bunks and other times she would alternate between a single bunk below with storage above (and easier accessibility) to a double bed below and her things stored above.

Below; port heads/bathroom. Lots and lots of shelf storage as well as a deep, side locker and an under sink locker. The tap pulls out to a shower, but to be honest, we rarely used it as we preferred to use the shower cubicle in the starboard hull.

 

Below; our spare parts storage and our water maker is just forward of the port fore- peak cabin

Below; the port aft cabin- the same layout and size as the starboard main cabin (except the wardrobe does not have a door) 

Above and below; storage in the port aft cabin. A side seat with shelves under, a large drawer and deep, under bed locker, side shelves and a wardrobe with hanging space and shelves. The storage compartments underneath the mattress are the same as shown on the starboard side.

Yes we know! We need some decent saloon and cockpit pictures! Coming soon….