Hitia 14 Catamaran

Description

The Hitia 14 is a lightweight, plywood-epoxy (stitch-and-glue with optional fiberglass sheathing) catamaran designed by James Wharram (with contributions from Hanneke Boon) of James Wharram Designs (UK), part of the "Hitia" series for affordable, easy-to-build beach cats and micro-adventure boats. It emphasizes Polynesian-inspired double-canoe hulls adapted for modern home construction, with plans sold directly by Wharram Designs (around £306 for full plans, plus optional wingsail upgrades). No factory production exists—it's exclusively amateur or small-shop built, resulting in a small but dedicated global fleet (likely low hundreds over the 2000s–present, based on builder communities and owner shares). Features include twin narrow hulls linked by a simple crossbeam/trampoline platform (no bridgedeck cabin), a distinctive sprit rig or optional wingsail (low-aspect mainsail on rotating mast/sprit for easy setup, low center of effort, and good light-air performance), extremely shallow draft for beach launching/beaching, car-toppability (light hulls easily carried by two people), dry storage in hulls, open kayak-style cockpits for 2–4 people (daysailing or short coastal trekking with tent-on-deck camping potential), exceptional stability from wide beam, forgiving handling (stable and manageable vs. high-performance beach cats), and low build cost (~$3,500–$5,000+ in materials, ~175 hours estimated build time).