Quick Facts
- Length: 40ft (12m)
- Design: Grainger catamaran (modified)
- Construction: Strip-plank western red cedar
- Build time: 2 years 9 months
- Launch date: 15 August 1997
- Engines: 2 × 9.9hp Yamaha outboards
- Speed: 9 knots under motor
Tokyo Express — 12m Catamaran
Tokyo Express is a 40ft (12m) sailing catamaran I built, starting in late 1994 and launched on the 15th August 1997.
She is a Grainger design which I made some changes to — creating, among other things, a new bridge deck cabin I could stand up in. With standing headroom of 2 metres and wrap-around windows giving all-around visibility, she has an airy feel inside.
TE has one large daggerboard of my own design, replacing the original twin boards. The hull construction is strip-plank western red cedar — a cedar core with fibreglass inside and out, laminated with epoxy resin. Interior floors and bulkheads are all marine plywood. The external finish is 2-pack polyurethane with acrylic windows bonded to the hull.
The rig is fractional, with a fully battened mainsail. Speed under motor is 9 knots with both engines running. After fitting the single, very large daggerboard, she goes upwind like no other cat I've sailed.
"Like a migratory bird, moving with the seasons. There is something magical about being free to move as you wish, and take your home with you."
TE was home for nearly 5 years. I sailed her many times up and down the east coast of Australia — from Sydney to Lizard Island at the northern tip of the Great Barrier Reef, then later into the Pacific as far east as New Caledonia and Vanuatu.
Following the sun and the seasons, living at anchor. Noosa Heads was my home port in those early days — I used to cross the bar and anchor up the river, opposite the sailing club, whenever I was passing through.
The Story in Chapters
Chapter 1
The Beginning
I built the original shed many years before. My plan back then was to build a 21ft keel yacht. My first step to prepare for building a cat was to lengthen the shed...
Chapter 2
The Build
I built the cat in the bush in South East Queensland. Living in a caravan next to my shed, I spent nearly every day building.
Chapter 3
The Launching
This was the day I'd been dreaming of for a long time. I learnt what it meant to be patient. But it was more than worth the wait.
Chapter 4
Cruising
After 2 weeks anchored in the Noosa River commissioning and testing, we set off — east coast, Barrier Reef, and beyond.
The Full Story is in the Book
The website has photos and a brief description, but in the book you'll get the full three-year story — the decisions, the setbacks, the hard lessons, and the day it all came together on the water.
Read the Book