Hedley Nicol Trimaran Plans

It is an Islander. The boat has been for sale for quite a while now.

 

New Cavalier ?? Owner

Hi all, My Name is Kevin. I have just come into possession of what I presume to be a Hedley Nicol Cavalier Full Cabin Tawarri 11. (anyone know what the Tawarri 11 is) Well that is what it said on the old rego papers I found floating around in the hull. She is still in great condition but I feel I have just got her in time before any major damage setting in. I was searching for more info on this boat when I come across this forum and after reading the posts for the weekend I have developed an even bigger passion to get this old girl back in shape and sailing! I also thought the photos should be uploaded so everyone can see where another one has ended up. I live in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia and from what I understand this one might be a local build. If anyone has any history on this boat I would love to know.

 

Hey Kevin welcome to the forum and this thread, great find! It is indeed a Cavalier, the Taiwan 11 I'm not sure about unless it was built in Taiwan and the 36' design length is around 11 meters. Looks like your stern has been stretched a bit, this is a good thing as they get a wake when loaded off the transom. Your cockpit photo looks like you have the quarter berths under it as per plan? The cabin is similar to the one used on the Nicol Buccaneer 40 (12m) , one level. My Vagabond MK2 was built this way with the sole at keel level for headroon, A Cavalier has a bit more freeboard so you may have some room under the floorboards.
Have fun getting her sailing, Nicols are great for cruising. What is your keel set up? Stock set up is a long shallow main hull keel with long keels/ fins on the amas. Some of the drawings in the thread show them along with the stock ketch rig.

 

Gday Kevin

I am away on my cat at the moment (writing this on the wifi) but I think that Tawarri 2 was owned by multihull legend Geoff Cruse in the early 70s.

Geoff is a surveyor so you should be able to track him down. Nice bloke and he may be able to give you some history on the boat.

cheers

Phil

 

Ha! I was in a hurry this AM. Tawarri 2 makes a lot more sense. One of the Cavaliers in Oz back then was named Warlock but that doesn't help

 

I'd be interested to hear how wide the bunks are, the cabin looks wide like the one on Chili Magic.

 

Cavalier Rescue

Hi everyone, thanks for the welcoming and comments on the boat. Yep I reckon she is a beauty and will be stunning when she is back to,,,, after I get to it. I went out to her today for another look around and took a photo of a bunch of numbers stamped/carved inside the boat. I don't know if I have them all as some maybe be covered by the wood paneling. I will uncover them if they are so I can preserve that part. My main attack at the moment is the rudder stuffing box. It is obviously not packed at all, clean, etc etc, the grey crap is mud, lovely Moreton Bay mud. This I hope is the main/only leak in the main hull from complete neglect. I know absolutely nothing about yachts so sorry if my terminology is wrong. I got the boat because I restore/save old cool things, and this boat I have known for 10 years. I just didn't expect it to become mine. I know the past two owners, the last was irrelevant as he didn't do anything to or with the yacht. The owner prior to that was a guy called Possum, he lived on Garden Island in Moreton Bay. That was where I saw the boat sitting very low beside his jetty. It used to piss me off for 10 years! About two years ago Possum passed away and the boat changed hands. It was then moored in a bay where I lived and it turned out to be a friend who got it and he lost interest. BAM! it ended up mine

Now I have to get it back together.
It has leaky hatches on the deck.
Parts of the deck are soft, some holes
main hull seems fine, but leak in stuffing box
pontoon on the left has a hole under the leak from the deck and also some delamination.

The cabin seems to be very wide to me, compared to the photos I have been able to find. There is what I would call two 3/4 double beds, one either side of the cabin. then a lounge wither side with the table. I will take some better shots and see if I can get some measurements. I have no idea what the keel is, I am pretty sure it is very shallow like the ones I have seen in google searches.

The extra on the end I think may be part the bathroom, shower and toilet. And on the end there is a waster tank.

There is a lot of work to be done but I feel it will be worth it.

 

I worked out the number 850958 is the Hull ID# and LOA is the length. Would still like to work out what the first letters are and will have to remove some timber to find out.

 

Make a plan, keeping the water out is the priority. Hatches are a priority.

Don't mess about with get rot goos, just cut out the bad spots on the deck and section in new areas, plenty of advice ion the forum f you don't know how. The ama delamination might need a haul out.

It might help you to go to outrig.org and download the Searunner construction manual for some ideas

If you read through the thread you'll see that the stern cabin with the head is stock, what looks like it has been added on is the extended outboard area. If there is a water tank there move it forward as weight in the ends hurts performance.

Cabin height and width was left flexible for builders to vary for their needs but the plans did give a solid layout.

Have fun, make a triage list. Start with what needs to be done to preserve the structure and move on to what needs to be done to make her seaworthy.

 

Hi, yes that is my plan, luckily I have a few people around to give me a hand with the jobs that are tricky. Thanks for the tip off about that download, that is a great source of information and shows me a lot more of what I am working on. The tank in the back seems to be a waste tank from the toilet so its not very big and hopefully wont be too much weight. Unfortunately I am just finishing off two other boats and time is limited. But I am in the perfect spot to work on in, will eventually have to get it out of the water but for now I can leave it beside my jetty.

 

Get it out at Arbers

Shaun Arber has a yard that is good for long term work on multis. He is a great boatbuilder and used to have Renegade - the fastest Nicol in Oz.

The numbers are for Australian registration which means this tri has sailed overseas. The prefix - ON - is at the start of every Australian ship number. Oz rego coasts about $1500 so that is good if you want to head overseas.

If you have access to the water you can probably pull her out on your own land. A big old truck chassis can be used or you can use box trailer axles,stiffened up and then welded together to get her out. Out of the water is much easier than in and if you are on Russell or Macleay or similar then get her out and work on her much faster.

cheers

Phil

 

Next download should be the WEST System epoxy boatbuilding manual to update the Searunner book. Everything that says glue or fiberglass is now done with epoxy.....

 

Get her dry

Thanks for those extra publications, they will come in very handy. I am hoping to attack some of the issues with her in the water until I can work out a way to get her right up in my back yard. I'm on a little island called Perulpa in Moreton bay. I have water access but I have to be careful not to break any laws. If I wait for a big tide I should be able to get it in high enough to be able to keep her dry and in a workable area. It is in surprisingly good condition, considering its age and care over the last 10 years. We are the same age and I am not sure I am in as good condition. Im not a virgin to boat repairs, just yachts, in the water and sailing. But I have 3 timber boat restos going on at the moment. One 7m trailer sailor is just about ready for paint, and another weird timber boat which I have not had any luck identifying yet. The boat in the picture was pretty bad when I got it, looking forward to giving it a run. But unfortunately its going to have to go so I can concentrate on the Cavalier rebirth.

 

Looks like a Japanese influenced hull, lots of chine Vs in that part of the world.

 

Hi Kevin.

Just on a whim I entered the name of my old boat in google "find"and lo and behold I come straight to your post on this forum.Yes, My Boat"At least she was mine for about twelve years.Just a short history.I bought Tawarri II in 1988 from a painter in Gladstone.I was a novice,knew nothing about boats or the art of sailing.I learned as I went. I sailed her up and down the east coast and just before the Sydney to Hobart race sailed home to Tasmania.Then back to Airlie Beach and surrounding waters.I then spent several months at a marina at Beachmere on the Caboolture River,where I reinforced the beams that carry the pontoons.I also lengthened the stern.Did a few more upgrades,including a collapsible dodger and set sail for New Zealand.I spent a whole season there.After returning to Brisbane I sailed her north to Thursday Island and Gove and on to Darwin.For the next 7 or 8 years Tawarri took me through the Indonesian archipel ,Singapore and on to Thailand.Hence back to Singapore and on to Sarawak,Brunei,Sabah and on to the Philipines.There I spent 3 years cruising around the many Islands there.In 1999.I sailed back to Brisbane and a year later sold her to somebody who lived on Russel Island. All and all about 49000NM ,mostly single handed.
In 1988,when I bought her she was already at least 15 years old I believe.Shawn Arber can tell you more about her construction.It was good to see her again and hope she will serve you well,as in the 12 years she has encountered every type of sea condition that you can imagine and served me well.All the best, fair winds and calm seas.
Hans.