Slocum 37, Rafiki 37 performance...

[vtcapo]

Does anyone out there own a Slocum 37. I just bought one. On our test sail in 8-13 knot breezes she was doing approx. 6-7 Knots with a 150% genoa. Not bad for a 28K pound full keeled boat. With her tall rig she proved to be quite tender for her heavy displacement but i suspect this is charactertic of most double enders.

Does anyone have any info on her blue water performance in heavy weather and rough sea conditions. Owners of Rafiki's 37's which the Slocum 37 is a morphed version could also answer my question.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

RT

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by vtcapo

Does anyone out there own a Slocum 37. I just bought one. On our test sail in 8-13 knot breezes she was doing approx. 6-7 Knots with a 150% genoa. Not bad for a 28K pound full keeled boat. With her tall rig she proved to be quite tender for her heavy displacement but i suspect this is charactertic of most double enders.

Does anyone have any info on her blue water performance in heavy weather and rough sea conditions. Owners of Rafiki's 37's which the Slocum 37 is a morphed version could also answer my question.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

RT

Hi vtcapo, and congrats on the new (old) boat. I've never seen the Slocum version, but if they are the same as the Rafiki then you've got yourself a great boat.

Not sure I would call ours tender, but she does like to lie 10-15 degrees on the beat. Of course, with her 12,000# keel, that's about as far as she goes (unless I'm flying too much sail).

We mostly sail Lake Superior, so not officially "blue water", but we've certainly had her out in big seas and wind (40+knots with 3+ metre seas). She has always handled it all extremely well.

You're right about the speed. We routinely see 6 - 6.5 knots on the speedo. Hull speed is somewhere in the low sevens (7.2 I think), which we often see with any wind on the beam (anything over 12 knots ... and no seas).

We have noticed that she will hobby-horse when beating into steep short wavelength seas. Keeping the speed up by falling off the wind more allows her to cut through.

[vtcapo]

Thanks for the reply. What sold me on the boat were all the good review on the Rafiki. Since the Slocum 37 is by the same designer I had to assume they were similar in perfomance.

It seems that everything on this boat is top quality and over rather than under built. All her hardware is more than substantial. She has twin Pro Furls up front and a Furlex addition to the mast allowing for internal main furling. When I saw that, I had to buy her. Only change to the rig would be to set a track & traveler aft of the staysail so she can tack just by a turn of the wheel. How is yours set up?

I knew she would be good in a seaway but didn't know about the hobby horsing. Thanks for the tip. How does she handle in following seas. I've been in a few storms where we had to take breakers on the stern quarter or get pooped. Is it true double enders part the waves and taking them on the quarter in not necessary?

Thanks again for your fast reply,
RT

[Mike OReilly]

The Rafikis were certainly built to a very high standard. I've owned mine for three years now, and am even more impressed now than before we bought. Our boat also came with a near-full set of blueprints (signed by Stan Huntingford), so I know how strong and solid these boats are. I don't know how the Rafiki 37 morphed into the Slocum 37 (different builder? Different company?), but I would assume you have a heck of a boat.

Our came rigged with a self-tacking staysail. It rides on its own boom, and slides on a rail track. I can try and find a pic if you like. I'm thinking of installed a second furler up front, but thinking of carrying a Code-Zero sail ... not sure. In any case, we currently have just the one furler for the yankee. We usually fly a 125%, which seems to be more than enough most of the time.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the hobby-horsing. It seems to be confined to a specific wavelength and steepness. Once we get shorter or longer waves, it disappears. And as I say, I've learned to just keep the power on, and no problem. Overall, I am very pleased with the sailing characteristics.

I've never been pooped in this boat, although that may be combination of luck, skill, and the boat's characteristics. I've read much about how double-enders "parts the red sea" with a following wave. I'm not sure I believe it, but I can tell you she does well in a following sea.

[vtcapo]

Mike,
Thanks for the information. I am familar with staysail booms. Would enjoy seeing your rig arrangement. From what I've read, Slocum Boats hired Huntingford to design a double ender for them. Having designed the Rafiki, Huntington made some design changes to the interior, mast, rig and sail area but esentially only minor changes to the hull. Hence she really is a spin off of the Rafiki and was built in Tiawan.

Can't wait for the refit to be completed and get back to sailing.

Once again thanks for the info.
RT

[Mike OReilly]

Hi vtcapo, I finally got some pics of our staysail set up. I didn't have any good ones in our collection, so I took a couple while working on the boat this weekend. Hope this is useful:

[vtcapo]

Mike,
Seems like a very simple and adequate setup. I will be using an I-bean and traveler. When it's installed I'll send you pics. Unfortunately, I will have to recut the staysail for it to work properly.

Thanks,
RT