Another Tiki 26 on the Gulf Coast

I was on the coast for a couple of days last week, for a book signing in Pascagoula, and a day of sailing on my Tiki 21, Element. The turnout at the book signing was not great, and the wind was light and variable the next morning when I went sailing. But the interesting part of the trip was that I discovered another Tiki 26 that was built right here in Mississippi that I had no knowledge of. A friend had emailed me a couple of times, saying he had seen a Wharram in the area, so I drove along a riverside road where he thought it might be docked, and sure enough, it was a Tiki 26. I stopped and took photos, then got the owner's phone number from the owner of the dock it was tied to, and talked to him a couple times on the phone. He said the boat has been finished for about a year, and he was unaware of my Tiki 21 or other Wharrams in the area. I'm looking forward to meeting him and seeing the boat again in the near future. He said it sails really well and he frequently takes it out to the barrier islands. Below is one of the photos I took when I first spotted it. It is built to plan and I like the simple, workboat finish that blends right in with the local commerical fishing craft and fits the Wharram philosophy so well.