Tahiti Ketch MELVILLE

Description

Designer:

John Griffin Hanna, born in Galveston, Texas, October 12, 1889. In 1917 he moved to Dunedin, Florida, USA, where, the purchase of a boat Greek sponge fisherman, symmetrical ends, and his detailed study gave him the ideas which would later lead to the Tahiti Ketch model. This specific book tells the story of the designer and his boats (a copy of the book is on the MELVILLE). 

 

 

The principle of this boat was to offer plans for a dream boat (and why not from Tahiti, the island that made Gauguin dream?!), and which could be built by amateurs in their free time. It was the time of the Great Depression in the United States, and plans for large, expensive yachts were not in the news.

 

The hull pointed at both ends, rigged in ketch and cutter, horned mainsail and marconi mizzen. It was a traditional but modern plan for the time (we are in 1923, the date of the launch of the first Tahiti Ketch named Neptune). Its well-defended bow allows it to handle rough weather, and its Norwegian stern makes it easier to escape when progress becomes dangerous. A large master beam allows for a reassuring course, supported by a divided, balanced and reasonable sail plan, offering multiple adjustment possibilities. All these reasons mean that this plan was quickly adopted by many shipyards, and that several hundred Tahiti Ketch sailed on all the seas and oceans of the world, in various configurations, and very different hull materials: wood of course. , but also steel and even ferro-cement.

The drawing was published in “How to Build 20 Boats”, and, most importantly, in “Modern Mechanix” in 1935.

 

Extremely seaworthy, several of these boats have circumnavigated the earth, some even several times.

Among them, the French chef Jean Gau in “Atom”, and the American Tom Steele in “Adios”.

 

Most of the Tahiti Ketch that we find in French ports all come from the Pfister shipyard in Aigues-Mortes, there are many on all the seas of the world but which only have one thing in common: the original plan. From 1959 to 1983, the Sirvent shipyard, formerly Pfister, launched 88 Tahiti ketch, i.e. all of the sailboats built in France on this plan.

The typical specifications of a standard Tahiti Ketch are as follows: 

Hull Type:	Long Keel
Rigging Type:	Masthead Ketch
LOA:	30.00 ft / 9.14 m
LWL:	27.00 ft / 8.23 m
Beam:	10.00 ft / 3.05 m
Displacement:	18,000.00 lb / 8,165 kg
Max Draft:	4.36 ft / 1.33 m
Construction:	Any
Ballast Type:	Anything
First Built:	1928
Builder:	from plans
Designer:	John G. Hanna

The specifics of the MELVILLE

The MELVILLE is a custom-designed and built Tahiti Ketch and is probably unique. It was built by the shipyard "Cantiere Navalli G. Pasquini" in Ortona, IT in 1963. There are a few differences to the original plan: The beam is 15cm wider, so 3.20m at the widest. This allows for a wider and more comfortable interior, with a very unusually "luxurious" kitchen on the port side and the 2 bunk beds alongside the engine, as well as generally more storage space on the inside of the ship.

The build materials overall are of very high quality and the work done is very solid and beautiful. The ship is moored at and maintained by one of the few shipyards left in Croatia that is still building and maintaining wooden boats, the renowned Filipi shipyard in Sukosan near Zadar. The experts there are always full of praise for the quality of the materials, the construction and the seaworthiness of the MELVILLE.

The MELVILLE is currently registered in Switzerland with the home port of Basel. 

Because of the age of the boat and all traceable transactions of current and previous owners were private and all within what is now the EU, the VAT status of "VAT deemed paid" should be applied. 

Pictures

Videos

Inventory

Rig

• Solid wooden masts (main, mizzen) and booms (main, peak, mizzen)
• Gaff square main sail, 2 reefs
• Mizzen sail, 1 reef
• Furling Yankee sail 16.5 m2, Bamar furling system, both new in 2021
• Furling Staysail 6.5 m2, Bamar furling system, both new in 2021
• 2 winches for the headsails
• Sail bags for all sails except main sails
• Sail covers for main and mizzen (2021)

Engine

• Solé Diesel MINI-44 Boat Engine, 4 cylinders in line 42 HP (30,9 kW) 3000 RPM, 2011/2, approx. 940 hours, fully serviced every year
• 130l inox diesel tank
• Consumption approx. 2.6l / hours, at 1800 RPM, boat speed 5.5-6 kts
• Full set of spare parts (impeller, belt, filters etc.)

Electrical equipment

• YUASA Marine 12V 145AH Service battery (2022)
• EXIDE 12V 95AH Engine battery (2022) 
• Zetagi Shark MSC2612 Switching Battery Charger 12V 26A
• Shore Power Cable
• 12V sockets by chart table and in the cockpit
• LED Navigation and Mooring Lights
• Deck Flood light
• LED cabin lights
• Handheld 12V Search light
• Raymarine ST40 Bidata depth & speed instrument
• SIMRAD TP32 Tiller Autopilot (2021)
• 12V Solar charging/charge maintenance panel (used to maintain Engine battery charge over winter)

Kitchen

• Inox sweet water tank, approx. 200l
• Gas stove, 3 burners
• 2 Gas bottles
• Large Fridge (12v / 220v), with top and front access
• Manual sweet & salt Water foot pumps
• Full set of cutlery, dishes, glasses, cups, pans, pots, bowls etc. for 6-8 persons
• Wooden outside/cockpit dinner table

Safety

• Cobra COBRA MR F77B VHF Radio with integrated GPS
• Plastimo Cruiser Liferaft for 6 persons (2020, serviced in 2023)
• 2 LALIZAS Fire Extinguisher Dry Powder 2kg
• 1 LALIZAS Fire blanket 120x180cm
• 6 Automatic Life vests with life lines for Adults 
• 2 Automatic Life vests for kids
• Maintenance sets for Life vests
• Wichard Safety line LYF SAFE Jacklines on deck
• CATCH AND LIFT MOB rescue system
• Safety Ladder ''Safe Up'', M.O.B, 5 steps
• LALIZAS Professional sea anchor (Drogue) No 1
• Guard Rail Netting (never used)
• Front and aft (new in 2022) automatic electric bilge pump
• Manual bilge pump
• Engine cooling water intake can be redirected to the bilge (in an emergency)
• Signaling Mirror w/Red Dot, Ø86mm
• Flares, Parachute rockets, smoke signals (2023)
• Gas Signal Horn
• Compass (not functional)
• First Aid Kit
• Adriatic Water Pilot

Mooring & anchoring equipment

• 2 10m mooring lines
• 2 15m mooring lines
• 1 30m shore line
• Plowshare Anchor with manual winch (power cable for electric winch is prepared), at least 30m chain
• FORTRESS FX-23 Folding anchor
• 8 Fenders
• Dinghy 240 x 115 cm, 3 Persons with 12V pump (2020, all never used)
• Inox Bathing ladder

Miscancelous

• JABSCO manual board toilet
• Full winter cover with sandbag ballast
• Sun sail
• Front and main cabin ventilators
• Lots of spare parts like blocks, shakels etc.
• Cordless drill/driver
• 12v Vacum Cleaner
• 220v Vacum Cleaner
• Deck cleaning brush 
• Water hose
• Diver mask & fins
• Bucket
• Manuals