Wharram Tiki 26 vs Woods Strider Club

[resynth]

I've seen examples of both of these boats, of a similar price and age, advertised for sale and am interested in buying. However, i live in the north of Scotland and would have to travel several hundreds of miles to view them so thought I'd ask the forum for some opinions first.

I'm more interested in ease of sailing than performance but, obviously, don't want a very slow boat. Has anyone had experience, or heard others experiences of sailing both designs? Does the tiki tack as well and point as high as strider club?

I'm also concerned that the shape of the tiki hull may cause her to hobbyhorse / pitch a lot and interested in how their seafaring abilities compare?

Also, I have been told that the strider club has more room in the hulls than the longer tiki, Is this true?

Any other opinions on the designs would be most welcome.

Thanks
Ben

[Richard Woods]

I don't think the Strider Club and Tiki are that different in concept. Both are trailable cruising boats designed for less experienced sailors and not particularly alarming to sail.

Obviously you'd have to judge for yourself after viewing them in the flesh. I agree that means a long drive south, but you can get a good feel of the Strider Club from video clips on my website. Better still would be to buy the Day Sail to Russia video from my website of course!!

The Strider Club was originally sold at a very low price, so to save costs it had a small rig. Many people have since fitted a larger one, similar in total area to the original Strider.

You can see more about the history of the various Striders on my FAQ's page. I'd also suggest looking through my Articles pages as there is a lot there about Striders as well.

I hope you find the boat you want

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

[bill broome]

i'd go with the strider club, personally. it's a little or a lot better in sailing qualities.

i would guess that the only area where t26 might be better is ultimate survivability. i make it my business to be warm and dry in front of the fireplace in that kind of weather. interested to hear how you decide, keep posting...

[Landlubber]

Yeah, an old boatbuilder mate of mine had a Tiki, not much chop as a sail boat really, there are certainly better design around, they are still not too dear to make if you use ply.

[rayaldridge]

As a former Wharram owner, I feel pretty sure the Strider will point higher and go faster. A lot depends on what you plan to do with the boat. The Tiki 26 was sailed in an OSTAR and did surprisingly well. So, crossing oceans? I might pick the Tiki. Everything else? I'd pick the Strider-- it's a much more modern design, in my opinion.

[resynth]

Thanks for your replies, think I'm leaning more towards the Strider Club.

Went to see Strider the other day. Has quite a lot of spider web style cracking in the finish. I'm no boat expert so am not sure if this is normal for a 20yr old GRP boat or if it's cause for concern / a signifier of problems in the fibreglass? Also, the gunwhales have been replaced by just screwing straight into the fibreglass, I'm guessing this isn't as much of a problem as screwing straight into ply/epoxy? (instead of drilling, filling, piloting then screwing?)

She's generally a bit scruffy and needs some work but I quite fancy her!

Have posted some photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/38002507@N07/

Would be really helpful to hear some opinions on whether the spidery cracking that can be seen in a couple of shots is likely to be something to worry about (the boat is covered in it!) or is just something that happens to the finish on old boats?

Thanks for any advice
Ben

[Richard Woods]

I had a look at your photos

From the number (101) I think this was the first Strider Club, thus was built in 1988.

It has certainly had a hard life and also seems to have been neglected of late.

I cannot now remember whether the cockpit tray laminate was changed after the first boat. It looks as though the cockpit was dropped at some time to cause those mastbeam/cockpit front cracks. A dirty boat always shows cracks more than a clean one, while as it is hard to get the first boat out of a new mould they often have more gelcoat cracks than later boats.

Having said that the gel coat is very brittle and most star crazing is only cosmetic - especially if it is above the WL - the main laminate should still be OK - ie a boat is still strong enough even with badly cracked gelcoat.

The jib is non standard and non Woods Designs - not sure where it sheets or whether helm balance was affected.

Remember the Strider Club was originally sold at a very low price (less than a Hobie at the time) so many things were done to keep the price low. The small rig, no winches, no gunwale strip etc

But of course if the price is right...

Hope this helps

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

[resynth]

Thanks Richard, it's very good of you to spend time helping people out in the forums, other designers don't seem to give people the time of day.

The seller is asking £4,500 for the Strider, think I'll offer £4,000 and see what he thinks as practically everything on the boat needs some sort of attention!

Ben

[Richard Woods]

Even GBP4500 is a good price. Tidied up a Strider Club should fetch GBP6-7000

The best ones a bit more.

I hope you get it and enjoy your sailing

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com