James Wharram, world voyager in Polynesian catamarans whose passion for boat-design went with an enthusiasm for free love – obituary He went into business making his ‘double canoes’ for people in what ...

James Wharram, who has died aged 93, stunned the boating world in 1955 when he built the Tangaroa, a flimsy-looking 23 ft canoe-stern catamaran based on boats built by the ancient Polynesians, and, ...