TIKI 30

Colvin Gazelle

A self-taught sailor, I have built and rebuilt boats for the last 15 years and worked on hundreds more. Having rebuilt a worn down Tangaroa MK IV and then completed the build of a Colvin Gazelle Lug Schooner, I later decided to go into boat building.

 

In early 2000’s, I worked as the Purchasing Director and Service Manager for a marine service company that specialized in installing and setting up all the cool stuff you find on boats. Having learned this new skill, I found that great systems could be installed on any size boat if properly designed into the boat during construction.

 

 Before we started to build a Tiki 30, we considered all of the things required (watermaker, refrigeration, solar panels, head, shade, hot and cold pressure water, radar, autopilot, electronics, etc) and what we had to work with space and weight wise. Because the TIKI 30 is so small and weight sensitive, we had to be very careful when adding all of these systems.

 

First, we determined that the watermaker would save weight since the boat would not be required to carry a lot of water, making water as needed and still not consume to much power to do so. We installed a 750W 4 gallon water heater so that it would not take up too much space and the water could be heated with a 24lb, 1000 watt Honda generator. We installed a pre-built top loading 1.4 cubic foot 12V refrigeration unit that had tested to consume about 30 AH per day. We chose to use one Rolls 4D battery to operate all of the systems and installed 225 watts of solar above the custom made, fully enclosed, wrap-around bimini/dodger/screen room.

 

While building the boat, we had to be careful how and where we placed everything. (For instance the weight of wire to run the equipment can add up quickly. On another 60' catamaran we installed the systems on, we were able to shave 3000lbs from the original design just in wire by paying attention to these details).

 

Under cruising conditions, this boat never had to get water from a dock, never had to hear an engine run just to charge batteries, always had cold food and beverages, and cruised on less than $800 per month with 4 people on board. DVD movies were enjoyed almost every night aboard, and there was never any worry about lights or fans being left on. An email and weather system display were installed and did not use HAM or SSB while consuming less than 2 amps per day

 

The TIKI 30 was last known to be in charter in Maine