Cyprus-Forum.com

[CopperLine]

Most coastal regions around the world seem to have developed/evolved their own peculiar shipbuilding techniques, or at least local designs to meet local conditions. As I understand it from north-west europe for example, but also New England seaboard, there are variations from next door port to next door port in boat design, even if the basic characteristics are the same.

That's all a long build up to a question : is there a distinctive 'traditional' design common to Cyprus but maybe different between each port. I suppose I'm asking about fishing boats really.

[Nikitas]

Hi there Copperline

THe mast is a small and light hollow mast and it is screwed from the underside of a thwart (cross wise bench seat sort of). Instead of a ballasted keel there is a center board, like a knife edge that slides down through (a water proof!) a trunk in the hull. The beam of the boat being wide help in stability but the captain and or passengers will have to sit to windward. The setup is stable due to the small and low sail too.

[CopperLine]

Thanks Nikitas, these are clear gems of explanation. Thanks.

[Nikitas]

Copperline,

As to the traditional design of boats in Cyprus. In another thread posted by Iceman(General Forum) featuring photos from Cyprus in the period from 1878 to the 1930 there are several photos of boats and ships at port in Kyrenia and Larnaca.

From what is in those photos plus from my direct observations, the boat type most frequently seen in Cyprus is the Trehantiri type of fishing vessel, usualy under 30 feet long. These are used for coastal fishing as they are in Greece and the Turkish coast. For deep sea fishing I noticed trawlers in Limassol made from steel.

However, in a recent protest "march" of fishermen against the EU regulations on fishing I noticed that most small boats were fiberglass and of a modern line that had little in common with the older Trehantiri - Kaiki type. In fact the use of fiberglass boats seems to be more frequent by Cypriot fishermen than their mainland Greek countnerparts.

Trehantiri is a double ended boat (sharp at both ends), made of wood, with an inboard diesel engine and a tiller. The Greek Small Business Bureau (EOMMEX) published a book on the history and construction of the Trehantiri a few years ago, it is a bilingual publication and very informative if you can get it.

In the old photos you will see boatmen manouverin their boats in port under sail. That is evidence that seamanship of a high order was practiced by the Cypriots not so long ago. YOu will also see two masted schooners of 50 to 80 feet, presumably used for coastal trading either from port to port (roads were pretty bad back then and even during the 50s and 60s) and nearby countries.

I will look throug my photo files and see if there is a trehantiri profile.

Apropos tradtional boats, feluccas and San Francisco, which seem to come together in this thread.

In the late 19 and early 20th centuries, Italian migrants built feluccas, not in their true Egyptian lines, but according to what these men called a felucca in Italy. They fished with this traditional Mediterranean boat in the waters of San Francisco. Only one such boat survives and no boat enthusiast of the time bothered to copy the lines of a boat because they belonged to Italians and back then the Italians were not mainstream society! Amazing!

[CopperLine]

Nikitas,
Do you know if there is anything like a maritime museum in Cyprus ?

[Kikapu]

My First "sailing lesson".

I was 24 years old and on a Ferry going to Ireland with a friend, who had meet a boat designer / builder at a boat show in the UK. This friend of mine was invited to come and visit the residence of this boat builder, so we had decided to visit Ireland and do some camping.

While we were crossing the Irish sea on the Ferry, we met a passenger who was going to Ireland to retrieve his fathers sail boat. The conversation led one thing to another, and soon we were talking about the 1979 Fastnet Race which took the lives of 15 sailors. Included the death of the persons father we were talking to. He was also on the boat with his father as well as couple of other sailors with them, but when their boat turned over and did a roll, his father just disappeared. They eventually deployed their life raft and waited to be rescued by rescue teams who had their hands full during this unexpected storm that was a big surprise to the sailors. There were many sail boats that took part in this long tradition of racing across the Irish sea, so when the storm started tossing the sail boats around like a cork, many chose to abandon their sail boats and seek safety in their Life Rafts.

Once the storm had settled the true damage and devastation was know to all. 15 sailors were dead or missing, many empty sailboats were washed up to the shores of Ireland, and many empty Life Rafts were also recovered at sea. To the best of my knowledge, not one sail boat sunk due to the storm. Many boats suffered damages upon hitting land, but no loses during the storm. So here is the lesson I learned from this persons misfortune and the loss of his father when I started sailing some 10 years later which was always back of my mind always, as we sailed in few storm ourselves, and that was, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER abandon a sailboat that has not taken on water and that you are up to your neck in water, and that the boat is ready to sink, before deploying the Life Raft. Boats are designed to be in the water and are more durable than the sailors who sail them, so in the case of the Fastnet Race, many of the deaths came from sailors being lost from their Life rafts, or trying to deploy and get into one. Had they just stayed put on their boats, many more would have survived. The word "Life Raft" often gives the wrong impression, that it is safer than your own sail boat. It is not by any means. It is the very last option any sailor should ever think about, before abandoning your boat, in particularly in the conditions that were experienced during the Fastnet Race.

Upon arriving to Ireland, we saw many boats that were being recovered, and the person we met on the Ferry, was one of many, each with their own unique experience, I'm sure.

It was time to head to our campground for the night, at the property of this boat builder and designer that my friend had met at a UK boat show. He was not there, but we were shown around by couple of ladies. There was also a Catamaran that was in the water at the bottom of a small hill, where their house was. Close to 9 years later, a friend and I would actually buy a boat that was designed by this persons property we were camping on, to start my sailing ventures and a hobby that I really love. The designer and boatbuilder was no other than James Wharram himself and his two women in his life, hence the book, "Two Girls Two Catamarans". Was all this an accidental coincidence, or did faith played a part.??

Here is what one of his designs looks like.

[Kikapu]

Kikapu,

I will look through my cuttings for photos of some small simple boats and will post them here. The more I think of building my second boat the more I lean towards the simplest, fastest possible way to build. The most likely candidate now is a skin-on-frame boat. It can be built in a week and can be light enough to load on a car by one person, and it can hang from a hook in the ceiling (if you have a high enough room of course!). My first boat, the kayak, was "torture plywood" but it was only 14 feet long and could take one person.

When and if I build it I will sail it around the yacht club in the spring and watch all those dudes rubbing down, sanding, scraping, puttying their big yachts. I love hard work when others are doing it!

I have never built a boat, but did help build kayaks in college, so that we can canoe down the River Ardeche and the River Tarn in Southern France in the 70's. I also spent about 4 months rebuilding my own boat few years ago, by replacing the cross arms (beams) , all 4 of them which are laminated and fasten with epoxy and nails. I don't know if I really have the patience to build a boat, but would love to do it, it it's something like a Wharram Design.

Maybe this one.







I don't think the girl comes with the plan.!!!

[Nikitas]

Kikapu,

Your story reminds me of that old saying that there is no such thing as coincidence. Amazing that you would end up getting a Wharram boat. I would love to hear what it was like to sail in the boat in ocean conditions. I heard that they have flexible beams which got me intrigued on how they flex and move at sea.

Building a boat is fun if its within your capabilities. I can't stand projects that do not have a clear end in sight. Hence I could not start building a 40 footer. On the other hand, having built the kayak, and having helped others build boats I must say that there is a definite pleasure in seeing a boat take shape. No other man made object has the grace of a fine boat. Sitting in the cafe at Zea marina for me is like being in an art gallery, so many hull forms and shapes to admire, it is like seeing sculpture. When people ask which yacht I want and respond "none" they are either surprised or incredulous. They do not know what it means to own a big boat, hah! Once some friends plucked up the courage to talk to one of the yacht captains and finally popped the question "how much does it cost to maintain?". This was a 100 footer with all the trimmings. When they heard 800 000 dollars per year they got the message.

But small boats you can just fling in the water and sail off are a different kind of pleasure. I saw in another thread that Phoenix wants to cycle around Cyprus. Sounds like a good idea but the means of transport is kind of hard on the legs. A sailing boat would be much easier!

[Kikapu]

Kikapu,

Your story reminds me of that old saying that there is no such thing as coincidence. Amazing that you would end up getting a Wharram boat. I would love to hear what it was like to sail in the boat in ocean conditions. I heard that they have flexible beams which got me intrigued on how they flex and move at sea.

Nikitas,

The Wharram boat did great in all conditions. Just of the coast of Point Finistère, we were in a gale storm around Force 8 for couple of days, and the boat did just fine. The rest of us were shit scared, but the boat sailed beautifully taking good care of us, even though the force of a wave knocked me of my seat right onto the deck. We had "Rolling" waves as high as 40ft which turned the sea into a valley between these waves. We were lucky, that they were not "Breaking" waves. It was during this storm, that a 80 ft Racing Catamaran, Roger Gallet turned upside down, because they were going "full speed ahead". We even saw a 3 masted Tall ship, that was only flying their "Storm Jib", but not Roger Gallet.

Yes you are right, that the Wharrams do flex, but it is not the Beams that do the flexing, but the attachments of the solid beams and the hulls, where there is a movement of about 1 or 2 centimeters, or about an inch at the extreme.. It is much like a car suspension system, where the wheel moves up and down to give it a smooth ride. The difference is, car wheels move individually, where as on a Wharram, each hull move separate from the other. There are 24 connecting points on a 40ft Wharram with has 4 main beams. These connecting points are held together with a metal brackets and rubber mounts, and screwed down to attach the beams to the hulls. Also, there are 4 long (12-15 inches) bolt and nut that goes through the "dog house" which is the middle section of the hulls and between the number 2 and 3 main beams fore and aft. The newer Wharrams did away with all these metal brackets and nuts and bolts with rubber mounts, and just simply lashed the beams on top of the hulls with ropes, which was much simpler and cheaper.

Once you are sailing, you do not notice any movement of the hulls at all, but you can see them working, if you watch the beams and the hulls same time. The idea was to reduce the stress that is applied at connecting points between the hulls and the center of the boat on solid structured Catamarans. I have seen stress cracks on very expensive boats, which tend to happen, when one hull goes over one wave, but the other hull is either lower or higher than the other, or that one hull tries to ride out of the water, which never happens on large Catamarans, but the stress on the connecting points from the beams to hulls are there.

To give you an idea how this system works, just hold out both your hands in front of you face down, and just pretend, that each hand is a hull. Then just rock your hands very gently side to side few millimeters, and that's what happens with the Wharrams. So once again, it is the hulls that move and not the Beams.

[kafenes]

Kikapu, I happen to have this wind measuring device. I beleive it's from the sixties era, almost new in its original box. Do you know of this unit and is it worth anything?