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Old 21-06-2011, 06:10   #841
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Re: Trimaran cc 44 john marples

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Originally Posted by tomlinson4 View Post
considering a 1995 cc 44 in nz , well built and equipped and seems in good order. I know they are great cruisers and well regarded, but the market for a wood epoxy tri is very small and they are much harder to sell than a equivalent cat. Here it is, ** CRUISING 44FT TRIMARAN. SELL.TRADE** | Trade Me What do you think this boat would sell for and how easy to sell in your part of the world, I know it is worth a lot and would cost a lot to build but is there buyers out there. Not that I would be selling it again soon but just not wanting get an idea of its realistic value. thanks dave
I looked at the photos, and "what a beauty"! Wish it was mine...

Personally, I would want a bimini top that is up when under way, even If I had to build a small sail cradle on the boom for enough clearance. An enclosure would be nice as well. I would also tear out the front opening refrigerator, and put in a proper (WELL INSULATED) one, in the sterncastle footwell. Other than that, it looks ready to go, (IF it passes CLOSE inspection).

This is a VASTLY better "boat" than a similar length cat, in most respects. It would be safer, faster, tighter winded, more fun, better visibility, less pounding, have "variable" draft, let you know when to reef, etc. On the other hand... A cat with twin engines has more close quarter maneuverability, and more "party room". It would more resemble an apartment than a boat, if an apartment is what you want.

I don't know if that is NZ$ or what... Here, most folks buy cats because they DO resemble an apartment, more than a boat. Accommodations, more than anything, sells boats of all kinds! For serious sailors, however, tris like this will still sell, just not as quickly. I would certainly think it would bring between $175,000 and $195,000 US... THIS IS ONE OF THE VERY BEST MULTIHULL DESIGNS OUT THERE!

Get your best deal, and jump on it, is my advice!
Mark
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Old 21-06-2011, 07:24   #842
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Re: Trimaran ( Especially Searunner ) Owners

Although not same size, there's a 35 foot Marples selling for $55,000 in Rio Dulce. 1988 build but very well maintained and equipped, I think $175-195K might be optimistic but well over $100K possibly to $125K in US for the 44 foot. Home built boats are always a gamble on the resale market. Problem is that most people who haven't had a good tri don't appreciate how well they perform while in cruising mode. Most will sail circles around a cruising cat but you don't have the "apartment style" interior found in a 44 foot production cat, this keeps the prices depressed.
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Old 21-06-2011, 14:07   #843
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Re: Trimaran ( Especially Searunner ) Owners

thanks for those replies, good to confirm that there will always be a market for a good boat in good condition, have paid a deposit and as long as we don,t find any nasty surprises we will be cruising in style this summer!
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Old 24-06-2011, 22:03   #844
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Here's a desperately cute little 10' Marples tri for sale near Seattle.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/boa/2452210156.html

I wonder if I could fit it in the dinghy spot on my Searunner? ;-)

Seems like it ought to have a story attached...
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Old 24-06-2011, 22:11   #845
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Re: Trimaran ( Especially Searunner ) Owners

now that is an opportunity to get a Marples tri that won,t break the bank
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Old 26-06-2011, 05:57   #846
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Re: Trimaran ( Especially Searunner ) Owners

OMG I want that little baby Searunner! Wonder how long a trip from Kentucky........
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Old 12-07-2011, 19:06   #847
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Re: Trimaran ( Especially Searunner ) Owners

If anyone knows of somebody looking to purchase a Searunner, Mine is now for sale!

Check out "Honeywind" a 1975 37' Searunner.

Searunner For Sale | Honeywind

Thanks!
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Old 26-07-2011, 18:40   #848
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Stringer Material

Wondered if anyone had recommendations/ advice on the best material for stringers in a new build. I'm considering building a Richard Woods Vardo design which is built basically the same as a searunner, but hopefully somewhat less work as only 2 hulls? Thinking of starting construction this fall in St Augustine.

Cheers,
Jeff
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Old 26-07-2011, 19:01   #849
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Re: Stringer Material

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Originally Posted by Boatguy30 View Post
Wondered if anyone had recommendations/ advice on the best material for stringers in a new build. I'm considering building a Richard Woods Vardo design which is built basically the same as a searunner, but hopefully somewhat less work as only 2 hulls? Thinking of starting construction this fall in St Augustine.

Cheers,
Jeff
Hi Jeff, Feel free to call me about materials and suppliers necessary to build your boat here in St. Aug. I've been in St. Aug. the last 8 of the 30 years of my boatbuilding career and may be able to steer you in the right direction. I am interested in hearing about your choice in building Richard's Vardo. I have always admired his Windsong design , which is of a comparable size. I can be reached at my website , www.seaworthysolutions.net , Scott
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Old 27-07-2011, 07:05   #850
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Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

Hi Jeff,
My preference for stringers and the lumber portion of frames, is a species of light weight / medium density mahogany, or even so called "Philippine mahogany". (BTW... Mahoganies vary a LOT!) You want a strong/stiff wood that glues well, and is light weight, but you also want a good grip on fasteners. THE designers opinion should be weighed heavily.

Douglas fir will also fill the bill well at a lower cost, but when routing the edges it often gets splits and chunks fly out. (Also happens when planeing). It sands unevenly too. If you are willing to remake a few ruined parts, that is another way to go. This wood is very strong for it's weight!

Cedar is much lighter, but also splits like Fir, and is not as strong, so you would need to consult the designer/plans to see if this is strong enough.

The lightest wood that I have used for stringers was Bass Wood. It was on a 12" long, super light, pickle fork, tunnel hulled race boat, that we later filled with pour in place foam. (110 HP, on a < 100 lb boat!) It is not applicable to any load bearing stringer situation on a cruising boat, as it is too soft and not strong enough.

One mistake to avoid... With the WEST System, coat X3/sand flat, & RE-coat X3/sand flat the "interior side" of your stack of ply on long table frames in your yard. The exterior is X3 coats, but 1 process & sand flat, as it gets glassed later. (You do these coats 2 hours apart, and I did 12 sheets at the time. All 12 sheets were complete in 3 days). Do the same to all stringer stock, after routing where needed, and all frame edge lumber stock, after routing where needed. The idea is to build the boat like an assembly line, out of pre finished out, coated & sanded components, then you can avoid 90% of the tedious sanding and/or coating of a completed boat interior, as it is already done!
Once beyond the "same day chemical bond window"... Neither epoxy resin / thickened glue, nor paints, stick well to epoxy that is not 100% sanded flat & to a glaze, with "0" shiny spots!

Good luck with it,
Mark
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Old 29-07-2011, 19:17   #851
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Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

Mark-

Thanks for the reply. I won't use Fir unless maybe I get some free somewhere. I plan to use Okoume ply and coat the inside after assembly, but before righting the hulls. Plan for 2 coats wet on wet by section between bulkheads. I want to keep it sane and will be setting up the strongback for the hulls around Sept 15 if I do go for it. Plan to be in the Abacos for race week in 2013.

Cheers,
Jeff
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Old 30-07-2011, 07:40   #852
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Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

Hi Jeff,
When I mentioned Fir (clear, vertical grain) as a possibility, (not my first choice), I was referring to the lumber only. I definitely would not use ANY grade of Fir plywood. Okoume is indeed a good choice for plywood. The coating schedule you suggest would be a big mistake, however. It is really easy to coat parts out flat on a table. It is quick & relatively cheap too. If you do it right, you can add just 5% to the over all cost, and double the lifespan of the boat. What I suggest is "less work" as well, not more.

If you coat the interior "after" the boat is built, then neither paint nor future interior parts will bond properly, unless you sand the interior flat and to a glaze first. (=100% sanded flat, with no shiny spots). This is somewhere between impossible and 10X the work of sanding ply out flat on a table. With my Porter Cable random orbit sander, & a 6" soft pad with 80 grit paper, I can sand a 4X8 sheet of ply completely in < 10 minutes. Remember, I did 12 sheets a day! In 4 days they were stacked in my barn ready to do the next 12 sheets...

Remember you first have to sand the sheet flat. This means remove the stipple, bubbles, and orange peel texture. IF you do it out flat on a table, and wet coat X3 in one day, then sand the next day, you have removed "at least" 1.5 coats. (You may have even gone through in spots). Then if you coat X2 or 3 the stack again, & sand, you remove 1.5 coats again. You now end up with a sheet that has an interior coating that is flat, smooth, and 100% glazed over. Even though you applied 5 or 6 coats, what is NOW left on there is between 2 minimum, & mostly 3 coats thick... but consistent, with no holidays, thin spots, or pin holes.

Trying to coat & sand a hull that is already assembled, is generally a really bad move. Using a WEST roller, you can't get up to the edges of stringers or corners, without missing the perimeter, as well as creating hard epoxy swirls, goobers, & runs on the stringers & adjacent frames. THEN they all have to be painstakingly hand sanded off later!

If you only slap on 2 coats "after the fact", it will be almost totally soaked up in spots or VERY thin, and if you DO sand in there later to get a bond, you will probably go through in numerous areas.

The W.E.S.T. system can make a wood epoxy structure really last, and be of comparable maintenance to a FRP structure that has also been LP painted. It also has the advantage on the outside, of being relatively immune to osmotic blisters. This ONLY applies if it is done correctly. Too thin a coating that is inconsistent is not really W.E,S.T. system, and if not sanded to a glaze, nothing sticks to it. I would do it right or not at all.

Assuming that you want it as "quick & dirty" as possible... If you only coat & glass with epoxy the exterior, then at least the bare wood interior can be bonded to later with thickened epoxy glue or paint. Should you want to dress up the finished out interior later, you can paint it with a brush, using a product called "Bar Rust". This is a heavily pigmented epoxy resin that can be painted on, (not as smoothly as paint mind you). It covers like paint, comes in many colors, and is semi gloss to hide the flaws. It would, however, require an outside air supply, and not be as nice or as thoroughly coated... but just might be an alternative to a proper W.E.S.T. system boat.

As I pointed out... Applying epoxy "after the fact", or in too thin a coating, is one of the most common & biggest mistakes that some boatbuilders make.

Best of luck with it,
Mark

PS.

This is what an unpainted, but well coated WEST epoxy system part can look like, if done out on a table, then installed. You can sand & coat with so much more finesse, out flat on a table.

Another bit of false economy is trying to avoid building a structure over your project. This Quonset hut was for my last project, lasted for 5 years, and the total, including 4 cover replacements, was < $1,000. The other structure pictured above, (that housed the boat previous to my last), also cost < $1,000, and after 37 years, it still stands! (Barely) Both structures took about a week to build, and both were heated so I could work through the coldest part of the winter.

One last point... Forget schedules on when you expect it to be done. Boat projects cost what they cost, and take as long as they take. The best attitude is to just work on it 70+ hrs a week until it is done, you die, or run out of money. A completed hull & deck BTW, is way less than 50% of a completed boat, and they always take longer than one can calculate. Unless you are a pro, into semi custom, and have built several of the same boat, there is simply no way to know...
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Old 15-08-2011, 11:45   #853
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Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

Bearings and couplings.
I hope nobody minds me adding some points that may help with long drive lines.

One option for ensuring bearing carrier alignment is to have bearings a clearance fit in the carriers and stern tubes. Suppprt the shaft and you should be able to spin the bearing on the shaft and in the carrier. Then coat it in epoxy and slide it in. Removal is easy as it either splits from grp or if in a metal carrier some heat softens the epoxy.

For couplings there are three types of thrust bearing CV joint. Aquadrive as already mentioned Python drive and hydradrive. There is also now a single CV joint which can take thrust called the marine joint and an Italian coupling that also takes angled drives and trust loads. Yes we supply bearings and couplings but I like to see people fully informed of current technologies so they can make an informed choice.

Neil
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Old 17-08-2011, 15:10   #854
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Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

Howdy,

I'm new to this forum but not to multihulls, as my last boat was a Wharram Tiki 30. I've been away from sailing for a while but am thinking of getting back to it, perhaps in Mexico. I've always admired the Searunner boats as they strike me as "the Land Rover of the sea." But my question is, are they simply out of date? I don't see much new building, especially compared to Wharrams. The Searunners for sale these days look like good value for money compared to newer and more elaborate designs, and I don't really want to live in two hulls anymore. My other questions: I'm thinking of a Searunner 37 or 40, but as I may be by myself much of the time the 40 might be too big, especially as I'm getting up in age (66). I'm also wondering how I would find a surveyor capable of looking at an unconventional boat like the Searunner, especially the condition of the centerboard trunk, etc. Any thoughts would be a great help.
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Old 17-08-2011, 16:05   #855
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Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

I'm no youngster either at 69. My vessel is a Searunner 34 in a stage of total refit and refurbish. When I look at the big picture, I get overwhelmed with all the work I need to do, so I just keep focused on the job(s) at hand, until each one reaches a stage of completion satisfactory to me.

I have thought about handling a 37 or 40 and am not sure I personally would want to deal with that much more vessel. But Searunners can all be set up for easy handling by the nature of their design.

As far as a good surveyor of a Searunner or Constant Camber, you probably could do no better than John Marples. Where you are or find a vessel for sale is a key consideration, as travel costs can add quite a bit.

Hope this helps!

Rann
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