Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

[Cavalier MK2]

I'm guessing hard means barnacles..... A multihull is really like an airplane, if your sails are the engine the hulls, keel and rudder are the wings and control surfaces. Like an airplane getting iced up cats and tris won't fly if those things aren't smooth. Becoming friends with a diver or taking up snorkeling can help between haulouts. On our last cruise we were slowing down near the end just because of slime.

With big engines often come large 3 bladed props. These things are like towing a drogue even without a rough bottom. Folders are pricey but worth it.

Like a airplane a tri can only carry so much. Extra odds and ends, boat stuff should all be cleared off the boat. It is amazing how the bins can hide an enormous amount of extra weight. A Cross 50 has a big payload but it should be saved for the important things and not used up for regular sailing. Furnishings add weight too, drawers and cupboard doors etc. aren't your friend when flying, save the heavy stuff for a Tahiti Ketch.

An electric fuel pump or transfer pump could lean out the tanks, maybe you could sell it to other cruisers.....

If you add all these things up the airplane can't take off or land or in the boat's case tack.

LAR keels do work but you need to keep speed up. You should sail a bit free without pinching, at speed you'll make less leeway than you would pointing higher and stalling. If you are trying to go to weather with the mizzen up it should be sheeted in tight, fall off a bit before the tack to speed up then add more rudder as you sail around, perhaps hanging on to the jib sheet for a moment to make sure she goes. Check your sail shape and sheeting too to get the most out of them. A big cruiser needs things a bit fuller than a hot racer.

Work through these chores and you'll find you have a lot better boat than the Piver.

[Red Horse]

My Cross 38 was hard to tack also. You need to bear off as suggested to get speed up. i found it helpful to hold off releasing the jib sheet until the jib backs the boat onto the other tack.
I also modified my keel as it was just flat sided and no shape this is an easy mod. You make up a set of ribs using the offsets set the keel on a foil shaped sole then laminate the ribs at the proper stations cover with plywood and glass. I also removed about 6 feet of keel as per instructions. Plans for this mod came from John Marples at a very reasonable price.
Take as much weight off the boat as possible.These boats are way over built by todays standards. I pulled all the sixties formica out of mine and painted every thing, You can't believe how much that stuff weighs. I also took the doors off all my cabinets and put either nets or dowel barriers in place
Rich

[Roy M]

Several places to pull your boat down here in San Diego: Driscoll's in Shelter Island, and two additional yards owned by Marine Group in South Bay, one at the old Knight & Carver in National City, and the Chula Vista yard. All can handle 26' beams. I don't know if the Baja Naval yard in Ensenada can handle 26'. My buddy Bob Dixon started out in multihull construction at the Brown Field yard where your boat was built. You can use up some of your fuel making the 12-18 (depends on how slow you are) hour trip to San Diego.

Call MarTec props in Long Beach to inquire about a two blade folding prop for your boat. They will need to know the horsepower, length and weight of your boat, the existing prop diameter and pitch (inscribed on the hub of the prop), and direction of rotation. You can also get three bladed Gori or MaxiProps at higher prices (but better reversing efficiency). I'm quite happy with my two-blade folder.

[blewett_john]

How many places can you find rot in a Searummer?

I think I have found them all by now. When getting ready to install my new centerboard I discovered that the centerboard trunk was a mess of rot. Fortunately it was just the plywood. The structure was sound and the mini-keel was solid.

One of the most difficult tasks was getting the water tank out. The diesel tank was mounted on top of the water tank. This wasn't too hard to get out: drain the diesel, pull out the tank. Good thing I did. When I poured out the remaining diesel from the tank into a jug there was so much sludge it plugged the funnel. The tank will be cleaned before it goes back in.

The water tank was another issue. One, it is big and heavy. Two, it didn't fit through the bulkhead by about a half inch. I had to notch the bulkhead to get it out but that was after rigging pulleys, lines to winches, cut hands, smashed fingers, and foul language. This tank will also get a thorough cleaning before it goes back in.

I spent an entire day cleaning out the rotten wood. Now all the bad is gone. Next step, patterns, new wood, fiberglass, epoxy, time, sweat, pain from working in small spaces, more sweat.

The silver lining to this dark cloud is that in the end I will have a centerboard trunk that I am sure is safe, and clean tanks.

Then onto . . . . . . .

[Roy M]

Good work, John, and hang in there. You will appreciate your efforts, even if they are hidden deep in the bilge.

[Cavalier MK2]

Make sure you put in fore and aft ventilation ports through all the relevant trunk and tank bulkheads and trunk support floors. Lack of openings in these areas is like putting the lid on the rot box cooker and turning it on to "mush". The center bulkhead openings should be able to be closed in an emergency. If air can flow freely between the front and back of the boat through all areas future problems will be minimized.

[happyendings]

John B,
I had 2-blade Flexifold props on my Edel 43 (they were purchased by the previous owner, forum member smj). Before selling the boat, I re-fitted the original 2-blade fixed props and was surprised to find that the motoring performance--both ahead and astern--was the same. Practical Sailor rated the Flexifold as the best 2-blade folder a few years back.

[trisailer]

I have a Searunner 31 boom for sale.
Aluminum with bolt sail track and pulleys, etc
$25
608 721-4509 Gays Mills, Wisconsin

[silviris]

Hey guys!

Just had a quick question about the SR31 and using a trailer. I had someone offer me a great price on a hull and amas for one and I might end up going that route, but I'm trying to gather as much information as I can before committing myself to something that big.

I know it's too big to be using as a "trailer-tri", even if I could figure out a way to make it a quick setup to fold and unfold it, but I was wondering if it would be dangerous to launch it directly from a trailer on a normal boat ramp. Does this size boat require a lift to do it safely, or is it just small enough to make ramp launching feasible? Would the length cause stress on the structure as it angled up onto the trailer? Would that size trailer be too tall to get enough of it into the water for a normal ramp?

I'm not trying to turn it into a park at home boat or anything, but I'd like to avoid as many unnecessary fees as possible and being able to pull it out of the water without any special equipment would save a lot of money (i.e. haulout fees).

Thanks!

David

[Mark Johnson]

Hi David
Our original haul and subsequent launch of Delphys involved a LONG trek! It was 75 M by land, 75 by way of 4' deep lakes/canals full of logs & stumps (one of which I hit... HARD), and a 78' lock into the Cooper River. Then we went 75 more miles down the ICW to our first dock.

This all went well enough, but only so because of having an escort service, and professional driver with his Brownell hydraulic trailer. With the route almost impossible and closing in fast due to development, It literally took years of planning.

The A frame boats have a huge advantage in that if dissembled, (being narrow enough), they can be hauled on almost any old flatbed, as far as the road provides!

Launching is a different matter. IF you use that standard flatbed to launch in salt water, it will require new bearings or more, depending on how fancy the trailer is. Once the boat is assembled and VERY close to your ramp... You can hire a regular boat transport guy with a proper hydraulic boat trailer. With this set up you have an advantage in that the pads being able to lower in the front or back (when the boat begins to go from a slope to level as it kisses the water), keeps from possibly causing damage to the wings. It worked fine for us.

If you will be hauling every few years for bottom maintenance and leaving it in the yard, this is your best bet, and a ramp launch is much easier on your new bottom job than the straps of a travel lift. The straps tend to smear your new paint @ the amas!

You just need to find a yard with an appropriately wide and long ramp, with access to the adjustable trailer I described. We are VERY close to having such a set up here in Bridgeton NC, @ "Bridgeton Boatworks". Hopefully... they will have a CB maintenance pit as well.

IF you have your own storage spot for the boat and trailer, and really want your OWN launching trailer, you can make one using old mobile home axles. If the haul is more than a few blocks though, it will need springs, which increases the height and complication. Remember, you will need the rig down, with permits and an escort service to clear the road, if you haul it assembled. (Even two blocks) This is unless you prefer the anarchy method, which works fine unless you get busted.

For third world launches, where everyone leaves their tri all rigged up and left in the yard on it's own trailer, Jack Molan knows the most. He kindly sent me photos of his trailer and a dozen others. They varied, but I believe that none of them had adjustable pads in the front. They just had padded skids under the wings, and this can cause problems when the stern of the boat floats the boat level and the bow goes down. (Jack got damage to his boat once).

This sort of launching/storage possibility is RARE in the US, and unless you do it a lot, costs more than hiring a professional (perhaps in the same yard), for your haulouts. This is IF you are at a yard set up to do it this way. I would only build my own trailer if I wanted it regularly stored on the trailer in my back yard, a few blocks from the launch ramp.
If you need them, I can pass on a few of Jack's homemade trailer photos, but consider the effort, additional risks, and economics.

On my previous boat, btw, I used a standard extendable tongue boat trailer to launch her, (after assembly by the water two blocks away from the ramp), and this went fine because she had a flat bottom to sit on and the additional athwartship support was provided with lashings run down from the akas to trailer supports.
For the 31' er this "might" do the trick if she sits on the bottom plank, but it would take a much larger trailer than my SeaClipper 28. Again, consider the hassle and economics. In this case, I borrowed the trailer for free, and temporary mods costs very little.

BEWARE! All of that wood cradle and support shown, made the trailer float! To get the boat free, we all waded out and stood on the trailer frame, disaster averted...

Having said all that, with a proper set up, on a proper trailer and ramp, with skilled help... trailer launches are still my favorite way to do it.
With a questionable set up on a questionable trailer, however, you are taking your chances.

[silviris]

I didn't realize the A-frame took so long to put together. I figured it was like the 25 footer and only took a few hours. I think I'll probably try and get a truly trailerable 25 so I can switch between lakes every once in a while. Once I get back to the ocean and have better facilities available, I can move up to one of the bigger ones. Thanks for the info, Mark!

[Boatguy30]

I would think you could get an a frame SR 31 on a trailer in a days work. Well I could anyway....

You can see pics on my blog of a 19'8" wide cat going down my street and then I pulled it 1 mile down A1A to a public launch ramp.

Floated off a minimally modified Hobie 33 trailer with the tide. That trailer would be perfect for a SR 31, but I ended up scrapping it down in Miami a few weeks ago. (Long story)

[silviris]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

I would think you could get an a frame SR 31 on a trailer in a days work. Well I could anyway....

You can see pics on my blog of a 19'8" wide cat going down my street and then I pulled it 1 mile down A1A to a public launch ramp.

Floated off a minimally modified Hobie 33 trailer with the tide. That trailer would be perfect for a SR 31, but I ended up scrapping it down in Miami a few weeks ago. (Long story)

Boatguy,

If I can find a permanent trailer that is capable of launching the boat in my price range, I may keep the 31 in my field of view; the only reason I'm even looking at this particular 31 is because of the price. It's a little too big for the lakes and facilities here in Fort Worth (I'll still sail it...it'll just have to be too big :P), but I'm also trying to think long term for when I finally get back to the Pacific. A great deal doesn't pop up every day and the 31 would be a good coastal/limited blue water boat for my small family.

I would definitely need to figure out some sort of quick ama mounting set up if I'm going to use it here in Fort Worth, though. Mark was saying it could take a week or more to put it back together after transport and I don't want to deal with that every time it needs to come out of the water. Most of the SR25's I've seen can just be pulled out of the water with the trailer and dismounted in a couple of hours, then taken wherever it needs to go for paint, maintenance, etc. Then I can take it back, put the amas back up in another couple of hours and be all set. And most of them are right in my price range.

Good to know that the Hobie 33 trailer might work for the 31, though. I'll be on the lookout for one while this deal is still available.

Thanks!

[silviris]

BTW, I'm not going to push the 31 if it isn't reasonable. Just trying to figure out if it is or not. I don't have a ton of money and plan on trying to set things up to do as much of the work myself as I possibly can. If I can figure out an inexpensive way to put the 31 in and out of the water without having to hire someone, I'll probably pop on the boat. If not, I'll wait until I get back to the ocean and don't ever need a trailer again. If you have any thoughts on a way to make this work for me, I'm happy to hear it! If you think it's pretty unreasonable on such a low budget, I'm glad to hear that, too. I really don't want to bite off more than I can chew financially. Sweat equity costs nothing but time, and I love projects, but bankruptcy lasts for 7 years! :P

[md7a]

For lake sailing and trailer convenience, you might consider building or buying a Seaclipper 20. They seem to sail well, fit on any flatbed trailer and can take a simple tent for overnights. http://smalltrimarans.com/blog/?p=2882

The Searunner 25 and 31 are complex boats for the seasteading lifestyle. Lovely as they are, they are not readily portable. Rather, they carry you away in a number of ways.

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