Boat Review: Tiki 21

A simple but elegant design that offers owner-builders a whole sea of possibilities

All photos Debra Colvin

Famous actor and sailor, Sterling Hayden, answered his own question about “what a man really needs to lead a good life”: A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in—and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment…

Suppose you were determined to sail the world aboard the simplest, most accessible sailboat you could build—a boat that would be seaworthy and reasonably safe, but devoid of comforts and luxuries most modern sailors would consider necessities. What might be possible if all you required was simple sustenance, a minimum of protection from the elements, and a sense of accomplishment?

Back in 1991 sailor Rory McDougal embraced this idea when he set off to circumnavigate the globe on a James Wharram-designed Tiki 21 catamaran he called Cooking Fat. The 800-pound boat, with its 18-foot waterline, lacked standing or even true sitting headroom it its narrow hull cabins, and McDougal carried no engine or electronics—just a sextant, a compass, and a crude self-steering setup he called “Harry.”

McDougal launched from Land’s End, England and successfully crossed the Atlantic in 29 days.  

For some wood, glue, bolts and string, I thought that Harry was a fantastic helmsman. He could cope with any strength or direction of wind blown at him… McDougal wrote.

His eventual passage to New Zealand was substantially more eventful though.