Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

[Roy M]

Beautiful boat! That looks like he's using a saildrive.

[slowbat]

Originally Posted by rossad

I thought that fellow Searunner folk might like to see possible the best Searunner in New Zealand. It has some fantastic systems like the anchor being placed at the centre of the boat and a self steering system that is very effective. The whole finish and cabin design is perfect.
searunner 37 | Trade Me

The 80K USD price is reasonable, is the anchor at the center of the boat or the windless and chain locker are located at the center?

[rossad]

Not sure about the sail drive dont think so.
The anchor goes up over the bow through a hose pipe over the forward cabin past the main bulk past the bunk where the capstan is placed and the chain drops to the lowest point of the boat. Its brilliant system. All chain. Warren said from memory an american sailed down to NZ with several ideas that they copied off his trimaran.
The build of this Searunner though is very good. Warren also said he would have liked the arma's to be 2 feet longer... Very experienced SR sailor

[Roy M]

Ross, any chance of more detailed (closeup) pics of the boat? I am particularly interested in all angles of the dodger and the cockpit enclosure. My anchor windlass is on the foredeck, which drops the chain into the locker beneath, forward of the toilet. But, I have the option of pulling the chain aft, as it is coming into the boat, so that the storage of the great bulk of it is in the bilge of the forward sleeping cabin, just forward of the centerboard. I installed an additional windlass control switch in that bilge to assist me in singlehandling the relocation of the chain rode. It was a simple-enough thing to do, requiring only a chain conduit from the forward locker to the after bilge. The conduit (actually, a heavy plastic drain assembly) has a piece of apitong for the chain to slide on for the six foot (2 meter) distance it needs to go.

[rossad]

OK so thats the anchor chain that is placed down under the floor boards centre of the boat. The anchor is still on the bow itself. All the chain weight is in a box in the best place low and centre.
Also the self steering a like a dial where you turn a small wheel and that alters in small degrees. I see he had the tyre system as a drogue which was placed on the stern.
Also the stern is a step. The dinghy folds in half. Brilliant workmanship.

[rossad]

Warrens SR was here before he went offshore couple years ago. I will try and find some pics I took of the boat.
His windlass is place well aft inside the cabin and the chain drops to one side of the centre board case.

[Roy M]

There's a reason the Searunner thread is the most active one on CF. This is so cool to be able to access such a degree of detailed information for such a seriously undervalued boat design.

[rossad]

Roy ... I looked everywhere on my laptop and just cannot find the pics.. they could be on my computer at work so i will take another look. I know i took a few pics of that 37 SR for idea's... It is now in Tauranga i think south of me...
Anyway i found couple of pics of this 43 SR. On the owners list here
Misc
I believe that this 43 footer is here on waiheke island where i live. The guy who owns it feel asleep one day while the engine was running.. he awoke to find the tide out and the engine stopped.. so he replaced with another new engine insurance job.
The previous engine was also a brand new engine... unbelievable...
His health is not the best and boat has sat on the beach for many years. Its still in pretty good condition. I met the previous owners a syndicate of business men that starting the build by professional boat builders... it got to expensive and they parted and one guy finished it. It had everything modern devices etc on the boat and went around the Pacific. Returned everything modern was sold off it and then sold much cheaper... the rig looks very powerful but like i say hasn't ever gone anywhere for 15 years or more.
NOTE the arma support made for the floats so that it stays up right. He made these because for many years on the hard the boat would learn oneside always when the tide resided. But one day it balanced and SR was perfectly on its mini keel. He was so concerned it was going to tip and cause a crash he made these floats.

[Roy M]

Updates from San Diego: Chris Glass is still in the water at Driscoll's Boat Works. They have too busy to haul him, but possibly this week. The good news is that they aren't charging him for the docking. My boat continues with detail work related to the deck hatches, overhauling and cleaning the RIB, and getting some issues cleared up with the outboard. I have finished with the work on the wet hatches, having attached the brass button latches to the recently painted decks. Next up is installing the windlass, all the wiring related to its operation, and then mounting all of the gear that is attached to the bow pulpit. Most of it small stuff, but the details are endless. Then, it's on to all of the painting of the cabinsides, cabintop and cockpit. I'm holding off on the cockpit dodger while I play with a small design change. Then, it's time to pull the stick and overhaul all the standing and running rigging. We are expecting (?) a heavier than normal rainy season this winter, so I need to get everything exterior completed before then. It will be nice to be able to sail again, as well. I will send some pics, shortly, of the now completed RIB roller assembly and painted decks, with all the stanchions and hardware reinstalled. I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out, especially since it was madness to embark on such a big side project with no guarantee of success.

[Roy M]

Whew! Changes......... Chris Glass won't get hauled for an additional week, the yard wants to clean out its present supply of boats by July 4th, then he's up for haulout. At least he isn't having to pay for sitting by at the dock.

I am currently distracted with refinishing my teak handrails. They have been sanded and bleached with lye and oxalic acid, and now the cabintop has been taped. I found my West System 207 Special Hardener, so, tomorrow, I will begin coating the handrails with epoxy. This way I will be able to get the teak hatch coamings also recoated, then all the teak will get a few coats of clear LPU, prior to painting the trim with Cloud White LPU, then doing the cabintop nonskid and the cockpit repaint.

It may sound crazy, but this focus on the exterior cosmetics has had an immediate payoff. A fellow member of my yacht club just bought a Leopard 39 foot power catamaran and I will be hosting him by sharing my end tie. He will be tied outboard of me for a couple months while he gets ready to go through the Panama Canal and then the Caribbean next winter. He saw my dinghy roller system and fell in love, so I'll be doing a bunch of work on his boat to make some needed cash for further adventures. Shine pays, despite the naysayers. And it's great fun to parlay an experiment into a product. Life is good.

[Roy M]

Well, Chris hasn't been hauled yet, so no news there. The Leopard power cat hasn't arrived yet, but I have my gigantic "pillow" fender out waiting for it. The handrails are all shiny and waiting for me to give them a couple coats of LPU (clear). I am still futzing around with small details: painted the interior of the windlass locker, recoated the float hatch coamings, redid the seat on the RIB, installed the chaps and cleaned the Hypalon. I still have a bunch of small details to complete on the deck rehab. But, it's getting done. I'm deliberately holding off on repainting the cabinsides, cabintop and cockpit, because it's too easy to get distracted by the bigger projects and leave the small completion items until they get forgotten. The dodger is still a big question. I've even considered going with a variation on a fabric dodger, made by a company based in Washington. It's called Iverson Design, and the YouTube demos are pretty impressive. Plus, I'm considering how much work the unit I have been considering will cost me in lost opportunity costs. Still, all of this beats playing golf or doing some other pastime. Head down, pull on those traces, plow that field. At least I'm keeping the thread going and on the Forum.

[Jimske]

Hi Roy, Hope you're not dissing farmers. What would we do without them? It can be a very satisfying enterprise.

Shine does pay and everyone loves a nice shine. Someday I (or someone) may make my project boat shine. IN the meantime accessability and utility rules.

I built a cockpit frame of stainless and am expecting the forward canvas windshield to be completed by season end. In the meantime I have a partial enclosure which helps a great deal. Fully convertible to roll back or fold back half way. I am going to add zippers to the side panels and a window opening next. But here is what I've got so far.

Oh - also added a roller furling and am waiting for my genoa to be cut. So between the two my sailing life will be a bit more comfortable on my "project boat."

The shine may never come on my watch! But it will be fun sailing in inclement weather!

[Roy M]

Nice job, Jimske! As for the weather, at least I didn't see the white stuff shovelled up in front of you. When you get the dodger up, would you post some pics? And for the farmers out there, no disrespect intended. The prospect of more sanding and painting, while all around me I see folks hoisting sails and drifting past my floating construction site, well, it brings out the mule in me (no disrespect intended for mules). By the way, this is the YouTube I was referring to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-TpjIXi1WA

. And, one more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlP-eUgAyj4

.

Once, I took a wave such as this (on another boat) which almost sheared off at the deck level. I vowed to do better than that one day.

[Jimske]

Originally Posted by Roy M

Nice job, Jimske! As for the weather, at least I didn't see the white stuff shovelled up in front of you. When you get the dodger up, would you post some pics? And for the farmers out there, no disrespect intended. The prospect of more sanding and painting, while all around me I see folks hoisting sails and drifting past my floating construction site, well, it brings out the mule in me (no disrespect intended for mules). By the way, this is the YouTube I was referring to:

. And, one more:

.

Once, I took a wave such as this (on another boat) which almost sheared off at the deck level. I vowed to do better than that one day.

That's a "BEAUT."

The cockpit enclosure is really intended for making an extra room while moored or could be used in simple rainy weather. Being able to go back and forth and stay out of the weather is a must for these Searunners and something I've been missing.

The original owner/builder in France only had a makeshift cover used for mooring when he brought it across. Smart. In real bad weather you may as well just close the hatches, put your foulies on and deal with what you got to deal with.

Once in the gulf stream I had waves breaking about 5 feet over my head from the stern: a Catalina 42. I can't envision heading into waves like that. The dodger didn't break but didn't do much to keep anybody dry either. Even with the companion way closed up we got pretty damp.

I think most boats with a bimini top would be advised to roll it up in such weather. One of my considerations is the ability to roll it up by myself pretty quick and just go naked.

J

[Roy M]

I've gone without a dodger for way too many years, though I have had a large boom tent while at the dock, for shade and rain protection. I've lusted for something like Mark Johnson's molded hard dodger, seen any number of bimini arrangements, and imagined what life would be like with a full enclosure when bashing in heavy weather. Now, as I move into the next phases of overhaul, I find myself rehashing all the options and compromises. Not having to build something myself has never previously been a viable choice, but now that I'm in partial retirement mode, it's becoming much more appealing to simply write someone a check for something that looks really solid, lightweight and attractive.