Can I use Tiki 30-style webbing straps on the Tiki 31?
The webbing straps on the Tiki 30 were introduced to get a very speedy way of assembling the boat, so it could help with easy trailering. For ocean going use I don’t know if it is the best way – rope lashings have certainly proven themselves there. You probably know there is a fleet of Tiki 30s on Lake Kariba (Zimbabwe) using the webbing straps. The advantage of the lashings is that they run around a block on the side of the hull creating only shear stresses on the glue joints and fastenings. The straps, because of their width, have to run through blocks ON the decks, which are then fastened down into the hull below decks. This is a slightly more complex construction and the forces are of a more difficult nature, though our solution to this is certainly strong enough – we use 50mm wide webbing and stainless over-centre buckles, rather like on the canvas sides of trucks.
