Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

[shorebird2]

Hi, ya'll. Does anyone know about a 31 foot Searunner built and commissioned in 1975 by EVERETT JEROME KEITHLEY and I believe was built in Santa Cruz, California.

I'm trying to track the history of this boat any help wolf be appreciated

[shorebird2]

I forgot to mention I believe she is hull number 45

[Roy M]

I built my float hatches to accommodate a longboard inside the float. Then, I traded the longboard to the signpainter for painting the boat's name and hailing port. At least I can stick my folding bike in there, along with the fishing rods, etc.

[rossad]

I think its time all us Searunner kids get together someplace in the states
Where is the best spot.
And hopefully the new owners list is done by then

[Mark Johnson]

It would be great to have a "conflab" in the Chesapeake or Pamlico Sound, where nice protected anchorages number in the thousands. Thing is, half or more of the U.S.fleet is on the west coast, a LONG sail away...
M.

[jmarples]

Shorebird, Jerry Keithley paid the design fee about May, 1970. He was then living in Felton, CA, not far from Santa Cruz. I do remember him, but not well enough to tell you any thing useful. John Marples, Searunner Design Office

[rossad]

Well ... i for one would be coming by a 747 jumbo so it really doesn't matter to me where.
I suppose where ever it is ..... it will never suit everyone but it should suit many. The event could even be a biannual thing and put into some boating mag's for extra's. The whole event could help the resurgence for the trimaran concept. It would be nice to do it sooner than later because Brown and Marples may like to take part. I have mentioned it before but I suppose it needs somebody to take the bull by the horn. there must be somewhere in the states and so it should be America (because the designer resides there) for such an anorgaral event. The Searunner deserves such an event and so do the designers. I believe there would be so many other people that have interest with these boats but just cant find excellent Searunners for sale much anymore .....
Even here in New Zealand there is only 6 or of them but possible only 2 or 3 any good and don't come up for sale.

[rossad]

I have built a stand on the back of my Searunner that houses 130 watt panel also a triangle wind vane that works differently to that of the original design inside the stand. An air x for maximum power cause i like to have lots of stuff to run and also a weather station. It seems to work well and though it has windage hey it really doesnt matter cause i am not trying to race.

[Mark Johnson]

ALTERNATE ENERGY SYSTEMS:

I have had solar and/or a combination of solar and wind on my boats since the 70s. Based on this experience (with a lot of trial and error), this is what I now suggest to my clients.


WHICH?
IF your boat lends itself to it, (as our Searunners do), go all solar. Solar panels last much longer than wind generators, and is a much more reliable source of power, giving several decades of use. When we returned to the U.S. after our first big cruise on Delphys, we swapped out our wind unit for another big solar panel, and have never regretted it.

Having said that... If one must have wind for logistical reasons, here are some tips: There are dozens of brands out there, so choose a quiet, powerful, & reliable one. Many brands are totally silent, but "whimps" in their output. Still, in a 24/7 windy area, they are a good supplement to your needs, considering how quiet they are. They are however, only a supplement to your needs. A really good brand that gets a bit larger, a bit heavier, and just slightly louder, but produces really usable amounts of energy, is the KISS brand. It sells for a good price too! The brand that I would be sure to avoid, is the Air-X brand and its brothers. They create a "circle of noise" around your boat that's easily the size of a football field, and even if the noise doesn't bother you, your neighbor may feel differently. (Making friends is half the fun of cruising, you know)...

IF you have a wind unit on the back, do not use it as a combination with solar on a tower, like so many monohullers do. Our Searunners are far more sensitive to un-centralized weight, so the amas, bow, stern, and up the mast, must all be kept light, to lessen pitching motion. Also, due to the shadows it creates, the wind unit back there, will at least cut in half the daily output of that aft solar panel, partially negating its usefulness. I have done numerous experiments to determine this... Dark shadows from close objects, even small amounts of it, knock the panel right out.

IMO... wind only makes since on a narrow monohull that can't accommodate solar, and the wind generator should be on a pole at the stern. It would mostly be used at sea, and would just be a supplement for the primary source of power, the alternator.


FOR TOTAL ENERGY SELF SUFFICIENCY ON A TRIMARAN:
Our boats lend themselves to this with solar, more than any other type of boat.

The starting point, is to build a bulletproof wiring harness... with crimped, then soldered, (just a TINY drop), then heat shrunk eye connections, to well fastened (every 8") double jacketed, tinned boat wire. The wiring harness is the most time consuming part of the system, and should NEVER need replacement. Almost all of the 99% who do not do this process, get increasing resistance after 10 years, and after 25 years, need to be completely re-wired. This may require tearing out a lot of the interior, and is best avoided!

Next... Equip the boat from stem to stern with the most energy efficient version of everything. This means use LED and/or fluorescent bulbs, and use DC to DC "transformers" for low V. gadgets... like computers, TVs and such, rather than inverters. Super insulate your refrigerator with 7" of foam, or use the equivalent R value in vacuum panels. Etc, Etc.

Except when doing multi day passages, (when our consumption doubles), we use about 35 amp/hours daily. This is with our boat equipped with all the comforts of home, like making water daily, and even watching a movie at night!

When making multi day passages, we run the engine for 45 minutes once daily, at around 5 AM. This is when the batteries are at their lowest, and best able to use the 38 A. from our standard Hitachi alternator. Then over the day, the solar panels bring us the rest of the way up to 100%, slowly.

Anchored out, the long slow solar charge is most compatible with the slow acceptance characteristics of mostly charged wet batteries, and we are "all full" with a 3 stage charge, by 11Am. If it is quite dark and overcast, it might take all day, and I may need to tilt the aft panel, but we still get to 100% charged.

With our two 6V. in series Trojan L-14s (=340 A.h.), and only using 35 A.h. out of them, it is a very shallow cycle indeed, so the acceptance rate is low. More power would be of no use! Also, with this shallow cycling, the V. remains higher, making everything work better/longer, and with good batteries, you may get 15 years out of a pair of them. With the addition of HydroCaps, they only need water a couple of times a year, however I check them on the first day of each season to be safe.

This ample storage capacity covers you for days of total black out cloudiness, OR unusual power usage, as well. Like most folks, we spent 95% of the 12 years we were full time liveaboards, at anchor. During this 95% of the time, we were totally "solar" self sufficient, 99% of the time. We NEVER had a single breakdown or flat battery situation.

A good battery monitor, like our Link 10, is essential, and due to topping up the batteries daily, the meter re-zeros itself daily, and stays spot on accurate. With the meter, I can first turn off all power sources in, (Solar) and then a glance, I can tell the consumption of any device on the boat, or if there is a phantom load, or a device left on.


SOLAR ARRAY:
You need an amount of power (in proven A.h. production on a perfect day), that is 2X your normal anchored out consumption. This way, you are covered, even on VERY cloudy days, when their output is only about 1/2. Overcast but BRIGHT, white out days, surprisingly... are great for solar production too, producing 90+ %.


I started with three panels and a wind generator, with the 3 panels in parallel going through an A. meter, as well as a separate meter for the alternator, and third for the wind unit. When I removed the wind unit and installed another aft panel, (articulating on a VERY light weight rack), I ran the new 110W. panel through the now available (previously wind) A. meter, by itself. This way, when it's cloudy and I want to tilt the panel at dusk, I know the sweet spot from my wife watching the meter.

The panel that is holding up best now, (@ 17 years old), is the BP. Ironic, isn't it. This one is still perfect, and while the other 3 are visually "wearing" a bit, output is as good as always, and I expect 30 or more years out of them.

The deck mount panels need to be above the deck for good ventilation, (rather than bolted directly to the deck), and with sloping end Starboard rails, so that toes and lines don't get hung up on sharp corners. This has served perfectly. Just don't step on them! I have, however, placed a foot there by mistake, with perhaps half my weight, and gotten away with it.

By having the 4 panels (totaling 280 W.) all spread out, 3 of the 4 are usually unshaded. Each has a Schottky diode in the + wire, before they get wired in parallel, (which is just before connection to the 4 stage Trace charge controller). The best wet battery charge controllers, btw, are for the self sufficient cabin crowd.

The "Schottky" one way diodes, are to prevent loss from some panels back feeding into the shaded ones. The slight V. loss here, is acceptable for the benefit. These are not to be confused with the "bypass" diodes that come with the panel, which serve only to prevent backfeeding within a panel.

These tips will make a solid alternate energy system that holds up for decades, and really serves its purpose. The hundreds of folks that bitch & complain about solar, have too consumptive a boats, with too small a solar array, as well as insufficient batteries, poor regulation & monitoring, and too much resistance. They're doing it wrong!

Done correctly, the "perfectly reliable", environmentally conscious, and blessedly silent solution, is solar.

For readers from way back, I apologize for repeating myself...

M.

[Boatguy30]

Nice post mark, but I have to call BS on the 35 amp hours per day. Maybe in cold climates in summer, but not at all realistic assuming you're running a even VERY efficient fridge and makin water?? !!! A pint a day??

No big deal, but much more realistic to figure on around 80-100 amp especially when considering charging a laptop, pactor email, etc, etc and NOT including making any water.

Maybe you also have a perpetual motion machine you can give us a good deal on?

[Mark Johnson]

Well Jeff, I can tell you "how", as I have in my previous posts, but I can't make you believe it.

One has to have a lot of patience, build the systems right, and make a less consumptive lifestyle for themselves. It's worked beautifully for us for all of these years.

My exhaustive posts on these points, are not for any reason other than doing the hardest part for you... knowing how to do it. If it has been perceived as boastful, it was miss-perceived, and not meant that way. It was a gift, that's all.

I realize that many folks have neither the skill nor patience for my suggestions, and others do not want to pay the up front price in time and money... or make the required lifestyle changes.

The post was meant for someone who really really wants an energy efficient but comfortable and reliable home at sea, and is both able and willing to make the sacrifices. For others, there are useful tid bits in there for you too. You don't have to do it all, to reap partial benefits, you know...

If one listens to my "conversation with Jim Brown" on my systems installation approach, (for which I get "$0"), I go into more detail of how my systems are in fact, the most reliable part of the boat, and do not have the potential for leaving us "up the creek", any more than a foot pump and bucket head do...

The 35 A.h. of daily usage mentioned, was a yearly average. It might be 20 something in cool months, in the States, or 40 something A.h. in a tropical summer heat spell! That's with making water and watching movies, btw... as well as running 2 anchor lights. (= to < 1 A.h./ night). We NEVER use more than this average, except when doing overnighters at sea, for days...

REFRIGERATION:
As pointed out, our refrigerator works harder but "efficiently", in a Chesapeake or Trinidad summer as well. In winter, A.h. consumption would be far less. It is a standard air cooled Sea Frost fridge, and the box is only 2 cu feet, with an insulation value = to 7". We do turn it up to where the ice trays no longer make ice, which cuts consumption in half. (Av of 37 degrees inside).

Between my wife and I, the total build and installation took WELL over 1,200 man/woman hours. Doing things right takes time! The box is super insulated, using both foam and vacuum panels, and it is a so sealed that the lid must be closed slowly. Dropping it makes a vacuum inside the box so strong that it doesn't allow one to open it! Even the outside of the box has a foil I.R. barrier. We installed this system, btw, 13 years ago, and haven't done a thing to it since.

WATERMAKER:
Ours is a Power Survivor - 40 E, WITH the silt reduction option, and is about 23 years old, on the original membrane. I have changed the seals a few times, but it has never failed us, and still works fine.

We bathe with a 2.5 gallon black plastic garden sprayer, and this solar heated jug is plenty for both of us to shower in the cockpit's foot well. On cloudy days, in the winter, we heat 3 qts of it in the kettle first. Along with another half gallon or so for drinking, that's a use of 3 gallons per day, for BOTH of us to get by. (Takes about 8 A.h. to make this 3 gallons)...

We rinse dishes with the salt water tap, and only when doing a lot of diving does our water usage go up, when anchored out. Then, we usually use rain water collected from the dinghy, or brackish water from the island for rinsing gear, so our run time remains the same, 2 hours in the morning...

If the batteries are full by noon, and water's been made for the day, we may go over that consumption number, and make more water in jugs, but only because its free, and we can... When NOT making water, the solar panels usually have us back up to 100% by 10:30 or 11:00 AM! (all 3 stages)

We never "rely" on the water maker btw. We keep the 30 gal tanks full, and just top them off daily for that last 3 gallons. This way if the machine craps out, we are in no worse situation than if we had no water maker. On long passages, we take another 15 gallons in jugs, for a bigger safety reserve.

POWERING TOYS:
When you're running an inverter to power a laptop, DVD player, printer, etc, rather than a 12V. D.C. to 19V. D.C. car power supply, (or whatever V. the device runs on), then you are consuming TWICE as many A.h. for that couple of hours. I ONLY run my small sine wave inverter to occasionally re-charge drill/driver batteries, as there is no other way. Pretty much everything else, runs directly off of the boats D.C. system. It's safer too.

It's really not rocket science, but for some reason, the average consumption for most cruising boats with our level of comfort, is indeed about three times what ours is, just for starters. You are right about that. And this 100+ A.h. consumption is with unreliable systems that are a huge pain in the ass!

Cutting your daily power draw takes a lot of commitment and understanding at first, (mostly more time), but it "cost" about HALF as much as NOT doing it, but producing several times as much power instead, like everyone else does. (No mater HOW it is produced, if you count the "real" costs over 20+ years).

One can pay the price up front, or later. Most have no choice, however. For those who know what they don't know, as well as "can" and "want" to build these sort of energy efficient systems, even though they take a lot of hard work up front, feel free to contact me.

Otherwise, use the bits N pieces approach. Use just the easy ideas that I've written about, and forget about the others. Or don't...

Hope this is of help to someone.
M.

[searunner31]

Hello, I have a searunner 31 and had a small stupid accident with her. I jumped off onto the dock that had black ice on it and as I went down pulled the back stanchion off.

Doesn't seem to be rotted at all.

Now my question is how to best fix it. The break goes right to the a~frame and it it looks like the stay is bulging a bit.

Can some one tell me how that area was constructed and if the bolts were tighten was it a wee little person.

Thanks ahead of time for your help.

[Boatguy30]

To show I'm a good sport I will spot you 28 amps hrs to run the fridge and make the water except you need to add 2 amps for the silt reduction kit booster pump if you have that. that only leaves a few extra. Better make it a short movie!

In fairness, I assumed your box was much larger than that and part was freezer. I'm actually spending a small amount of time thinking about what to put in the Vardo.

you should google a site SwingCat Woods Eclipse. guy built himself 2 huge boxes, one a freezer. Has a link on first page to a lengthy PDF with all kinds of theoretical calculations. He thinks he will use 22 amp/ hrs a day to run both! He even radically altered his deck camber to fit some bendy solar panels. some people and there crazy ideas!

[Roy M]

Searunner31, Glad you weren't badly hurt. As for the repair, if access is a challenge, install a large plastic screwin or pry out access port near the damage. Glue in a plywood butt block larger than the damaged stantion base, then glue in a replacement deck patch. Drill new holes, paint, then reseal and mount the stantion. Then, tell folks it's an alternate float ventilation port. You can install it through the hullside or the deck. Whatever works. It's a plywood hull Searunner, the best cruising boats on the planet.

P.S. Boatguy30, please back off a little bit, you are appearing a bit too strident for a Searunner crowd. We aim to help each other, not attack. And you should drop the yellow tagline on your blogspot, many of us simply can't read it to check it out.

[Randy]

Searunner 31,
Your deck whether it is rotten or not has no integrity and has to be rebuilt. I'd remove the A-frame, scarf in plywood from the A-frame drop to the next bulkhead and reglass. Lifeline stanchions need to withstand a lot more stress than what you gave it by catching yourself while slipping. Consider yourself fortunate.
Good luck with that, I hope the rest of your boat is in better shape.